Holding On
by SehunsBae37
Summary: Bella suffers from stomach cancer and often wonders whether her life is worth living with this illness. However a reunion with an old friend helps her to start looking on the brighter side of cancer. With Jacob's undying support and love, will Bella still have the will to hold on, or will she ultimately crumble? No vampires, no Shifters, all human.
1. Chapter 1

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 1

Bella sat at her window, watching as her father raked the leaves that had fallen from the trees. It was autumn, a time of changing leaf colors and the air turned a bit crisp. She watched as her father raked the leaves into separate piles until the ground didn't look so cluttered before heading back towards the house. Sighing Bella moved away from the window and over to her bed where she laid down and stared at the ceiling. Her chocolate brown eyes drifted over towards her nightstand where they landed on the pill bottles settled next to the clock, causing her to sigh again before turning over onto her other side to stare at the wall.

Three years prior Bella had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, between stages three and four. That had only happened after she had woken up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous, which was weird considering she hadn't eaten much at dinner that night, much to her mother's concern. She had thrown up, the noise alerting her step father who was up watching late night television; it was when it was apparent she was throwing up blood did he wake Renee and they rushed her to the hospital. After several tests and finding a golf ball size tumor in her stomach lining, it was determined she had stomach cancer. The doctor said that the cancer wasn't yet stage four, but close to and it was best to keep it from progressing to that. And now here she was, eighteen years old, still diagnosed with stage three to four stomach cancer.

Bella decided to move in with her father in Forks, Washington, stating she wanted a change of scenery and to not burden her mother anymore than she already was now that she was sick. Renee had been against it, but after speaking with her ex-husband, it was decided Bella move in with Charlie, so long as the chief of police keep up with her doctor appointments and get all of her medications. Bella immediately took over for cooking, knowing what she needed to eat to keep her healthy diet going and cooking whatever Charlie may want. All in all, everything seemed to be going alright, though Bella was still bothered by Charlie coddling her all of the time because of her cancer. But a parent is going to worry about their child, so she couldn't blame him.

Hearing her phone chime, Bella sat up and looked at it, frowning when she saw she had a text from her friend Alice Cullen. She was also the sister to Bella's ex-boyfriend, Edward Cullen, and insisted many times that they should get back together upon Edward's attempts to woo her again. The reason behind their breakup was due to Edward seeing and fucking his ex Tanya behind her back, though he claims it meant nothing and was a mistake; Bella wasn't buying any of it. Anyway, Alice wanted to know if she wanted to go shopping, knowing good and well that Bella hated the very idea of it, let alone actually doing it. Just before she could text back a reply, Charlie yelled, "Bella, Alice is here to see you!"

The brunette groaned and got off of her bed, putting her shoes on and grabbing her jacket before heading down the stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom where Alice grabbed her arm, she looked at her dad and said, "We're going shopping."

Charlie's eyebrows rose before he nodded, telling the two girls to be safe. He knew how much his daughter hated shopping, and being friends with Alice meant going to the mall more times in a week than she would've liked. He gave a wave as they walked out of the house towards Alice's yellow Porsche and pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

"Alice, this is like, the twentieth store we've been in and we've been in here for half an hour already. Are you going to buy something or not?" Bella asked, slightly agitated with her friend who was still trying on clothes in the dressing room.

Alice let out a huff from behind the curtain and answered, "Yes, I am. Just give me a few more minutes to decide."

Bella rolled her eyes and decided to leave the store, opting to sit on a bench outside of the store and wait for her. She had only been sitting there for about five minutes when a voice said, "Bella?"

Looking up Bella saw a tall, russet skinned teenage boy standing in front of her with a kind smile on his face. Frowning Bella tried to remember if she remembered who this boy was, if she ever had met him. Realization dawned on her after a moment and Bella gave back a smile saying, "Hey, Jacob."

Jacob grinned and sat down next to the brunette before saying, "Long time, no see. What are you doing back here in Forks?"

"Living with Charlie," Bella answered.

"You mean you've moved here?"

"Duh."

The two of them laughed before Jacob said, "That's great. Hey, you should come over to the Reservation sometimes."

Bella smiled and said, "Maybe."

Jacob nodded, taking the answer as it was before another voice calling out to him caught their attention. Looking with her old childhood friend, Bella saw two more russet skinned boys standing not too far off waving their friend over. Jacob stood and said, "I'll see you later, Bella."

Bella nodded and watched as he ran off, a small smile on her face as he left. The smile immediately dropped from her face as an intense pain went through her stomach. She went to find Alice, who was checking out, and requested she take her home. Twenty minutes later, Bella was lying on her bed after taking medication while holding her stomach, trying to will the pain away.

Charlie walked into her room and sat on her bed, rubbing her side soothingly. They stayed in silence for a while before Charlie said, "I'll make you some oatmeal. I can at least make that."

The brunette smiled a little and replied, "Thanks dad."

The man nodded and leaned over to kiss her temple before saying, "It will get better, kiddo. And one day the cancer will be gone. But until that day, just know that it will get better."

Bella nodded and watched as he left, knowing he was right but wondering if it was really true. Closing her eyes, Jacob came to mind and his face appeared, smiling at her. She knew Charlie was still friends with Billy, and Jacob had requested she visit La Push. She decided to ask Charlie about it when he returned with her oatmeal, wondering if reuniting with her old friend would bring a much needed change in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 2

"Bella? Bella, wake up. Come on, kiddo, wake up."

Bella slowly opened her eyes from sleeping before looking at her father who was leaning over her. She yawned before asking, "Is it over?"

It was that time of the month for her again to go and get chemotherapy, something she hated in the beginning but was now used to. However it still made her tired and sick at times. It was usually around these times she would miss a day or two of school. Luckily today's treatment was on Friday, so she had the weekend to recover.

Charlie nodded to Bella's question and said, "You fell asleep during it, kiddo. The nurse came and took the needle out of your arm and I decided to let you sleep a bit of it off, though you'll probably just go to sleep again when we get home."

Bella nodded and she reached up her hand for Charlie to help her up. Once she was sitting up she swung her legs over the side and allowed her father to help her stand since she was feeling a little lightheaded. Looking back at the hospital pillow, she sighed at the few strands of her brown hair that was left. She had been losing her hair in small strands since she started chemotherapy, but stubbornly refused to cut it when Renee, Phil, and Charlie suggested it. Her father and step-father didn't bring it up again, though Renee kept insisting that Bella take the plunge and just shave her head. Charlie saw the strands and picked them up before throwing them away. He then wrapped his arm around his daughter and allowed her to lean against him as they left the hospital and walked to the police cruiser.

On the way home Charlie watched Bella out of the corner of his eye, noting how she had her forehead pressed against the cool glass. Reaching over he rubbed her shoulder and said, "We're almost home, just wait a little longer, kiddo."

The moment they pulled into the driveway of their home, Bella was out of the cruiser and was running into the house as fast as she could. By the time the police chief made it inside, he could hear his daughter throwing up and hacking in the toilet upstairs. Walking into the kitchen Charlie poured a cold glass of water and got a spoon and a container of applesauce from the refrigerator before heading up the stairs. He headed towards Bella's room, depositing the items on her nightstand before heading towards the bathroom to see her wiping her mouth with some toilet tissue before dropping it into the toilet, then flushing it. She stood up and grabbed her toothbrush and the toothpaste, beginning to brush her teeth. When she finished she looked at her dad and gave him a small smile before saying, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked worriedly.

Bella nodded and ran her fingers through her hair to move it out of her face, feeling strands of hair coming with her hand. She looked down at it in her hand before throwing it away and walking past her dad to go to her room. Sitting on her bed she grabbed the applesauce and opened it before taking the spoon and dipping it in it, bringing it up to her mouth. She knew her dad was lingering in the doorway, so she looked up and smiled at him.

"I'm really okay, dad. I'm just going to eat this and take another nap," Bella told him. Charlie nodded before heading back down the stairs, giving Bella time to herself. Bella ate her applesauce and drank some water before changing out of her jeans and putting on a pair of cotton shorts, leaving her t-shirt on and pulling back her covers. She climbed into her bed and snuggled into her pillow, intent on taking another much needed nap. Man, did she hate chemo, but she knew it was only for her benefit, so she could endure it for however long it took. But sometimes she wondered if it was just better to stop it and let fate take its course. Fate quite frankly wanted to kill her with the cancer, so why not let it. Before she knew it, Bella fell asleep with thoughts on whether it was worth to keep fighting for her own life.

* * *

By the time Bella woke up again, it was time for dinner. Knowing Charlie couldn't really cook for himself, especially for her now, Bella got out of bed and changed back into her jeans before heading downstairs, running her fingers through her hair to straighten it out from when she was sleeping while trying to prevent more strands of hair from coming out. However when she was halfway down the stairs, she heard extra voices coming from the living room, male voices at that. Walking into the living room Bella was surprised to see not only Jacob again, but his father Billy Black.

Billy looked over at the newcomer and smiled, holding up his hand as he said, "Good evening, Bella."

"Hi," Bella replied.

Jacob grinned and waved, happily saying, "Hey Bella. Charlie invited dad to watch the Mariners game and I thought I'd tag along."

"Yep, and I've already ordered pizza for us. I ordered you a salad with grilled chicken and vinaigrette dressing. I also tried boiling eggs for you as well; I'm pretty sure two of the four are edible," Charlie piped in, a sheepish look on his face.

Bella smiled and replied, "Thanks dad, I'm sure I'll love them."

Charlie flushed a little before taking a sip from his beer can, causing Billy to laugh out loud. Bella turned to walk towards the kitchen and walked over to the Styrofoam box with her salad in it. Just as she grabbed it and turned with it to take to the table, she jumped in surprise when she saw Jacob standing not too far off in the kitchen with her.

"Jacob, hi," Bella said as she placed her dinner on the table before moving to get a fork, a bottle of apple juice from the refrigerator, and the eggs her father attempted to boil. She sat down with those items and peeled the shells off of the eggs, surprised to see that of the four eggs, three of them were perfectly boiled. She began to eat and motioned for Jacob to sit as well. After a few minutes of silence Bella asked, "So how was your day?"

Jacob smiled and answered, "It was great, actually. I got my algebra test back and made an eighty-seven on it. And I also had football practice, which went much better than expected."

The brunette nodded and said, "That's good. I didn't know you liked football."

"Well, I wouldn't say I liked it. It's more like I'm good at it."

"So you play as a result."

"Exactly."

The two of them laughed softly before Jacob asked, "So what about you? How was your day?"

Bella froze for a moment before putting some of her salad in her mouth. She didn't want Jacob to know she had cancer; she didn't need him pitying her and being careful around her like her parents. She hadn't even told Alice or Edward, her friend and her ex that she was sick. Their father Carlisle knew because he worked at the hospital, but he assured her that he was under a doctor's oath to keep that information confidential and that he couldn't and wouldn't share it with his family. Other than him and her parents, only the principle and nurse at her high school knew about her stomach cancer, and she wanted it to stay that way.

Quickly thinking of something to say Bella answered, "I had a decent day, though I mostly read my book and listened to music."

Jacob nodded and replied, "That's cool, especially if you prefer that over sports."

"I definitely do, since I'm not coordinated at all to play any sort of sport."

"I don't believe that, Bells."

"I trip every few steps. Trust me Jake, I'm very clumsy."

Jacob chuckled and said, "Whatever you say, Bella."

The two of them continued to talk as Bella finished eating, and before either of them knew it, it was time for Jacob and Billy to leave. Jacob asked Bella to exchange numbers, to which she agreed and they swapped numbers before Jacob and Billy left, Charlie and Bella waving them 'goodbye' while standing in the doorway. Once the Blacks were gone, Charlie said, "It was good to see Billy and Jacob. I can't believe how much he's grown; it's hard to believe he's just sixteen."

Bella nodded before saying, "Yeah, it was good to see him again. Also, your hard boiled eggs were great, dad."

"Bella," Charlie said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, making his daughter giggle. Bella told him that she was going to go and take a shower and go to bed before bidding her father 'goodnight' and heading up the stairs.

* * *

Bella finished towel drying her hair from her shower before putting the towel on her rocking chair and putting on a clean pair of underwear, then a clean t-shirt and cotton shorts for her pajamas. She climbed into bed and took her medication before turning the light out and getting comfortable. But she did notice as she was falling asleep that her spirit felt a little lighter than it had since she was first diagnosed and started treatment for her stomach cancer.

She pondered if it was because of Jacob. He did have a great, sunny personality and she realized she hadn't enjoyed herself as much as she had when she had been sitting in her kitchen with Jacob not too long ago. Maybe she was feeling lighter because of Jacob. With a smile on her face she closed her eyes and fell asleep once again, for once not feeling the pain in her stomach like she usually did.


	3. Chapter 3

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 3

Bella exited her history classroom with her friends Angela and Jessica. Of the two, she preferred Angela as Jessica liked to gossip and went back and forth between liking her and hating her; this started happening the moment she started dating Edward. Angela however never changed her opinion about her and stuck by her through her relationship with her ex and after they broke up, and she did the same when Angela dated and ended her relationship with Ben.

At the moment they were on their way to lunch and since it was warm and sunny for once in Forks, they were going to eat outside. Once they got their trays of food, they headed outside and found an empty table and sat down with their trays. The three of them talked for a while before Jessica gasped and said, "Hottie and cutie at six o' clock."

Confused Bella turned around and couldn't help but smile. Looking around at the many people enjoying the sun was Jacob and one of his friends. Bella waved her hand catching Jacob's attention and watched as he and his friend walked over, ignoring Jessica's question of did she know them.

"Hey, Bells. I was wondering if I'd catch you outside today," Jacob said when he reached her, his usual bright smile on his face.

"And you have," Bella replied with her own smile. Turning to her friends she said, "Angela, Jessica, this is my childhood friend Jacob and his friend…"

At her trailing off, the other russet skinned boy waved his hand and said, "I'm Embry."

Jessica sat up taller, pushing her breasts out as she said flirtatiously, "I'm Jessica, but you can call me Jess if you like."

Angela rolled her eyes at her friend's obvious flirting and said, "I'm Angela. It's nice to meet you both."

Both boys nodded and returned her greeting, though Embry kept looking at Angela, making her blush and look down at her food. Bella and Jacob smiled when they noticed this before Bella turned her attention back to Jacob asking, "Aren't you in school right now?"

Jacob nodded and answered, "Yeah, but we're on lunch break so I thought I'd come this way and see you and Embry decided to tag along."

"How'd you get here?"

"We took Jake's Rabbit," Embry answered with a grin. "That thing is this guy's pride and joy. He repaired it all by himself and has it running like new."

Bella smiled and said, "That's amazing. Where'd you park it?"

Jacob pointed towards the parking lot to where his car was. When Bella looked, she noticed that the space he was parked in was Edward's space, to which no one parked in because of how popular he was. And as if on cue, Edward pulled into the parking lot in his silver Volvo, only to stop seeing his space taken. The bronze haired boy got out of his car and looked at the old car in his spot with a frown on his face.

Jessica noticed as well and said, "I think Edward's noticed his space is gone."

"You guys have assigned parking spots?" Embry asked.

"No, but everyone knows that's his spot in particular, so no one parks there," Angela answered.

Jacob scoffed and said, "That's stupid. Does he think he's a pampered prince or something?"

Bella giggled a little at Jacob's comment before she noticed her ex stalking his way towards her. Once he reached her he asked, "Bella, whose car is that in my spot?"

Before the brunette could answer Jacob stepped up somewhat in front of her and answered, "Mine, got a problem with it?"

Edward glared up at the taller boy and said, "Move it so I can park my car."

"Dude, there are plenty of other spaces in that damn parking lot; pick one and park there."

Bella noticed Edward bristle at being spoken back to before he looked at her and asked, "Babe, who is this?"

"Edward, we aren't together anymore, so stop calling me that. And this is Jacob, an old friend of mine," Bella answered, an annoyed scowl on her face at Edward still trying to insinuate that they were still together.

"Bella, I have apologized numerous times. When are you going to forgive me and take me back?"

"I'm over you completely, and I don't want to date you again. You've cheated on me multiple times with your ex Tanya, you cheating asshole. Like hell I would take you back, especially after I did before, _twice._ "

Jacob noticed Bella was beginning to get upset and he didn't like the guy, whoever he was. He just had this air about his that made him think this guy thought he was better than everyone around him and was going to be a controlling asshole if he wasn't one already. He was glad Bella wasn't dating this guy anymore; it made him wonder what the girl saw in him to want to date him anyway.

Turning to the brunette he said, "Let's hang out later after school, Bella."

"Sure," Bella replied with a smile.

Jacob waved 'goodbye' to her before bidding the other two girls 'goodbye' as well. Embry said 'goodbye' to them as well, his brown eyes lingering on Angela a little longer before following his friend to his car. As soon as they were gone Edward turned to Bella and said, "Don't see him again."

Bella glared harshly at the boy, making him blanch a little before saying, "You can't tell me what to do, Edward; you don't own me. And if I want to see Jacob or talk to other guys, I can and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Now fuck off and go fuck Tanya or some other random bimbo that you can find."

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you had just spread your legs and given it up when I tried with you," Edward retorted with his own glare.

Bella gasped as her brown eyes widened before she threw her arm back and punched Edward in his nose, her knuckles cracking from the impact but she ignored the pain for the time being. Angela, Jessica, and anyone else around that saw gasped in shock as Edward hissed and grabbed his nose, his green eyes widened in shock at being punched in the face by the usually meek girl.

"Walk away," Bella told Edward, standing her ground when he protested. It wasn't until his bigger adopted brother Emmett came and drug him away, apologizing to Bella as he did so. As soon as they were gone, everyone began to gossip about Bella Swan punching Edward Cullen in the nose. Bella on the other hand hissed as she gripped her hand, sitting down next to Angela who took her hand and looked at it.

"It might be sprained, but that was one heck of a punch," Angela told her as she massaged her hand and knuckles.

Jessica scoffed and said, "I can't believe you punched Edward Cullen. If you don't want him back, then give him to me."

Bella rolled her eyes and said, "You can have him. Everyone knows you've been pining after him forever and only dated Mike as a rebound. Does he still not know you did that?"

"No, and don't tell him either."

"That's so low, Jess."

Jessica shrugged before pulling her phone out and began checking it for messages. Bella turned her attention to Angela and smiled saying, "I think Embry likes you."

Blushing Angela replied, "I don't know about that, but he is cute. And that Jacob guy seems to be into you as well."

"Oh no, we're just childhood friends. It's not like that."

"Bella, I'm not blind. He's into you whether you see it or not."

Bella brushed the comment off before saying, "I might have to go the hospital and get them to look at my hand. Something doesn't feel right in it when you massage over my knuckles."

Angela nodded and said, "Okay, go on. I'll just inform our chemistry teacher about where you are."

Bella nodded and thanked Angela before grabbing her book bag and keys and heading to her truck. She got in and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and heading to the hospital. Ten minutes later she pulled into the parking lot of Forks Hospital and got out of her truck, locking the door and heading into the hospital.

Just as she stepped inside she heard her name being called. Turning her head she saw Carlisle walking over to her. Smiling she said, "Hi Carlisle."

"Hello, Bella. What brings you here? Are you having problems with your stomach?" Carlisle replied.

"No, I'm fine as far as my cancer goes. I actually came to see if I sprained my hand."

"A hand injury?"

Bella held her right hand up for the doctor to see. Carlisle looked at it and turned it over, pressing along it and causing the brunette to hiss every now and again.

"How'd you do this?" Carlisle asked, his blue eyes looking at the teenager curiously.

"I…I may have punched Edward in the nose," Bella answered hesitantly.

"Why?"

"Because he's a jerk and said some disrespectful things to me."

Carlisle shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh as his son's antics. Edward's behavior was beginning to get out of hand; he'd have to deal with him when he got home. Telling Bella to follow him he took her to get an x-ray, telling her that if she didn't mind he would also like to look at the tumor in her stomach before leaving. Bella nodded before sighing, knowing she was going to be at the hospital a little longer than she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 4

Sighing Bella walked into her bedroom after arriving home, a brace on her right hand. Dropping her back pack she flopped onto her bed face first, planning on not moving for a while. She had been at the hospital longer than she wanted to be, but Carlisle insisted on looking at her tumor. There had been no change to its size, so she was still considered stable, which to Carlisle was good news; the tumor had shown neither progression to worsen nor shrinkage to healing. Bella didn't care either way, as she had stopped caring a long time ago whether her cancer got better or worse.

The ringing of her cell phone caught her attention and she turned over on her back to dig her phone out of her pocket. Pulling it out she saw that it was Jacob and she couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face. She didn't know why but there was something about Jacob where she couldn't help but smile. Pressing the 'Answer' button she put the device to her ear and answered, "Hello?"

 _"_ _Hey, Bella! Are we still going to hang out today?"_ Jacob asked.

Bella had almost forgotten that she and Jacob had agreed to hang out after school. Sitting up in bed she replied, "Yeah, let's still hang out. Where do you want to meet up?"

 _"_ _Well actually, I'm outside your house."_

"What?"

 _"_ _Yeah, look outside."_

Frowning the brunette climbed off the bed and walked over to her window, pulling back the curtain and peering outside. There in her driveway was Jacob leaning against his Rabbit, cell phone to his ear as he waved up at her with a bright grin on his face. Bella grinned before saying into her phone, "I'll be right down." And with that she hung up. She then headed down the stairs and outside to where Jacob stood with his hands in his pockets. Looking up to him she said, "Hey, Jake."

Grinning Jacob said, "Hey, Bells. So you ready to hang out?"

"Yeah, I am. So where are we going to hang out?"

"I was thinking that you would like to come to First Beach with me."

"Uh, you mean like, swimsuit, playing in the ocean kind of stuff?"

Jacob gave Bella a funny look before asking, "Have you ever been to the beach before, Bella?"

Chuckling nervously, Bella answered, "Sure, but I've never really had fun there. My mom was always sunbathing and I didn't have any friends to hang out with."

"That's a shame, who wouldn't want to be friends with you? But to answer your earlier question, yes swimsuit and playing in the ocean stuff."

Bella and Jacob laughed before Jacob told her that he had his swimming trunks on under his jeans and that he would wait for her to put her own swimsuit on. Bella nodded and headed back inside and up to her room to put on a swimsuit under her clothes. After searching through her drawers she found her baby blue bikini that Renee insisted she take with her to Forks. Once she changed into that and put her clothes back on over it, she took her medication and then headed back outside and she and Jacob climbed into his car and they headed towards First Beach.

* * *

Bella watched as Jacob, who had already taken his jeans and t-shirt off to be only in his swim trunks, ran towards the ocean and dove under an incoming wave before resurfacing. Jacob grinned and waved at Bella yelling, "Come on in, Bella! The water's great!"

The brunette hesitated for a moment before taking off her shoes, socks, jeans, and t-shirt so she was just in her baby blue bikini. Taking her hair tie from her wrist she tied her hair up in a ponytail before walking towards the edge of the water. All the while she walked towards the ocean Jacob couldn't help but stare at her. He observed her nicely shaped body and how the bikini complimented it. Bella wasn't too thin and didn't have an obvious hourglass shape that most girls were attempting to get, nor was her bust large but it also wasn't small. All in all, Bella looked perfect to Jacob but he didn't want her to think he was a pervert for checking her out in her swimsuit.

Jacob rode the next wave to the edge of the water where Bella was standing, a contemplative look on her face. Walking up to her he asked, "What's with that look?"

Bella looked up at Jacob and instantly looked back down, a blush covering her cheeks. She hadn't expected Jacob to be so close to her with water droplets running down his bare, russet chest and torso. Clearing her throat she answered, "Nothing, nothing. Let's just um, let's just get in the water."

Jacob nodded before suddenly grabbing Bella and throwing her over his shoulder, ignoring her yells of protest as he ran towards the ocean and jumped in, both of them being submerged by the incoming wave. When the resurfaced Bella glared at Jacob and yelled, "What is wrong with you?!" However, Jacob's laughter made her sudden anger disappear and she couldn't help but laugh with him before splashing him with the seawater. The two of them splashed and swam in the ocean for a long time, not knowing that it was nearing dusk until they were floating on their backs and staring at the changing colors of the sky.

They both swam back to the beach and walked over to where their clothes lay on the beach towels that Jacob had brought from his house. Bella gathered her clothes and shoes and walked with her friend back to his car where they got in sitting on the towels as to not get the anymore wet or full of sand as they already had. As Jacob drove back to Forks he said, "Thanks for hanging out with me today, Bella."

"No problem, Jake. It was fun, I have to admit," Bella replied with a smile. Just then a sharp pain shot through her abdomen, causing her smile to be replaced with a grimace.

Taking notice of her sudden change in expression Jacob asked, "Are you alright?"

Bella nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." But the way she groaned and clenched her fist told Jacob otherwise.

"Bella, you don't seem to be okay. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"I am! Now please just take me home, Jake."

Jacob gave Bella a concerned look before nodding and heading towards the Swan house. Bella hadn't meant to snap at her friend, but she didn't need him knowing she had cancer; it would just complicate things and he would start being cautious of her, probably giving looks of pity to her whenever she wasn't looking like everyone else did that knew she had cancer back in Florida with Renee and Phil. She was already lucky Charlie didn't give her those pitying looks, so she could definitely do without Jacob giving her the same.

Ten minutes later Jacob pulled into the driveway of Bella's house and got out of the car with her. Bella pulled her t-shirt over her head to at least cover her bikini top for when she stepped inside her home so she didn't embarrass herself or her dad about her attire. She and Jacob walked up to the front door and Bella took her key out to unlock the door. However as soon as she put her key in the lock, she doubled over and let out a yelp of pain.

"Bella!" Jacob cried as he wrapped his arm around her. Quickly unlocking the door and pushing it open, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside yelling, "Charlie!"

Charlie came out of the living room and the greeting he had on his lips disappeared the moment he saw his daughter's pained expression. Running over to him he took Bella from him and said, "Thank you for bringing her Jake, but I can take it from here."

Jacob nodded before looking back at Bella, feeling his chest constrict at seeing her pained expression. Looking back at Charlie he asked, "What's wrong with her? Why is she in pain?"

Charlie was about to answer but Bella cut in, "Dad, don't."

The father sighed and nodded before saying, "I'm sorry Jake, but I can't tell you. As long as Bella doesn't want it to be known, I can't tell you anything." Turning to his daughter he then said, "And you are going to tell me why you are wearing a brace on your hand."

"I punched Edward," Bella grunted before pleading for Charlie to take her to her room. Charlie excused them and went upstairs with Bella, leaving Jacob standing at the bottom and looking up after them, a concerned look on his face. What was wrong with Bella, and why didn't she want him to know what was wrong? With those thoughts in mind he left the Swan house and got into his Rabbit, driving back to La Push with Bella on his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 5

Bella didn't go to school the next day due to the fact Charlie was afraid she would have another episode like she had the night before. He wanted to make sure that she got absolutely better before heading back. And it was the scare that also led her father to taking her back to the hospital to be checked out. She had explained that Carlisle had already looked at her tumor and that it hadn't changed, so the checkup was unnecessary, but Charlie wouldn't be swayed.

At the moment she was waiting in a hospital room with her father, once again cursing her cancer for burdening her father and causing more medical bills to find their way to their home eventually. Sighing for the umpteenth time Bella said, "Really dad, I'm fine. Last night a bit crazy, but I'm fine now."

"Bella, you need to be looked at. You didn't stop being in pain until four o' clock this morning and fell into a bit of an exhausted, fitful sleep. I would know; I sat in your room the whole night," Charlie replied, a stern expression on his face though his chocolate brown eyes held concern in them for his only child.

Bella sighed once again before looking off somewhere else in the room. The silence in the room was interrupted when the sound of her cell phone chiming caught her attention. Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out her phone and saw that she had a text message. Opening it she saw that it was from Jacob and she read what he had sent.

 _Hey Bells. I was just wondering if you were okay…I couldn't stop thinking about you last night and what could possibly be wrong. I would like to see you again today, if you don't mind.-Jake._

The brunette stared down at the text for a while, wondering what to say in reply. Jacob had witnessed her episode last night and now wanted to know what was wrong with her. She couldn't tell him that she had cancer; she couldn't burden someone else with the knowledge that she was sick. But at the same time she also wanted to see the boy again. Bella wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about Jacob that made her feel secure, made her feel safe. And there was also something about the way he looked at her that made her feel good whenever she was with him; the fun they had the day before proved that, not to mention that she hadn't had as much fun as she had with Jacob at First Beach. Making a decision she typed a reply.

 _Hi Jake. Sure, we can see each other today. I'll see you after school hours.-Bella._

"Who was that?" Charlie asked as he watched his daughter put her phone away.

"Jacob," Bella replied, noticing her father's smile that he quickly covered up by rubbing his hand over his mouth. She rolled her eyes at the movement, already knowing her father was planning on her and Jacob being an item, seeing as he was already best friends with Billy Black.

The door to the hospital room opened and Carlisle stepped inside. He smiled at them before shaking their hands as he said, "Good morning, Chief Swan, Bella. What brings you here this morning?"

Charlie nodded and replied, "Morning, Dr. Cullen. Bella had a bit of a painful episode last night and I want you to check her tumor."

"Really? Of course I can look her over."

"I'm fine, it was nothing," Bella insisted.

Charlie looked at her and said, "It was not nothing, Bella. You were gripping your stomach in pain until four o' clock this morning."

Carlisle's eyes widened at what Chief Swan had said. That didn't sound good, especially considering Bella's stomach tumor was between the stages of three and four. Nodding he said, "Alright then, I will take a look. I hope you don't mind waiting here for a while, Chief Swan."

"Of course not, Dr. Carlisle. I'll be here when you get back, kiddo," Charlie said.

Bella sighed before getting off of the hospital bed and following Carlisle out of the hospital room and so he could take a look at her tumor. She didn't think there was really anything wrong. She was certain that she was just fine.

* * *

Charlie waited patiently and anxiously for his daughter and Dr. Cullen to return. It had been about two hours, going on three that they had been gone. He prayed that it wasn't anything serious and that it was probably her medicine reacting a little differently than normal. He didn't think he could bear to tell Renee that their only child's cancer had gotten worse.

The door opened and Dr. Cullen stepped inside, a grave look on his face and blue eyes filled with pain. Seeing that expression on his face caused Charlie's stomach to drop and trepidation washed over him. Standing up he asked, "Well? What is it?"

Carlisle didn't say anything at first before sighing and saying, "I'm sorry to tell you this Chief Swan, but I'm afraid I have to inform you that Bella's cancer has progressed within the past few hours. She is now diagnosed in having stage four stomach cancer."

Charlie felt the breath leave him and his knees gave out, causing him to sink back down into the chair he had been sitting in previously. Bella, his daughter, his baby, had stage four stomach cancer. Tears welled up in his eyes as he buried his face in his hands, trying to contain the tears that were threatening to fall and the sob that was trying to work its way up his throat. For some reason, hearing this was worse than when his ex-wife had told him that Bella had cancer in the first place.

A hand placed itself on his shoulder and he heard Dr. Cullen say, "I'm really sorry, Charlie. But rest assured that me and my team will do everything we can to heal Bella. I've already scheduled for her to start a new round of chemotherapy in two days, and she'll probably feel much worse than she already does now taking chemo, but it's for her benefit. Just know that we are going to do all that we can."

"And what can I do to help?" Charlie asked looking up at the blond male. "How can I help my daughter more than I already am?"

"Just keep doing all that you are doing now. Make sure she's comfortable at home and help her to keep up with her medications. You're a good man and father, Charlie Swan, and Bella appreciates you. Keep doing what you are doing now and that will be enough on your part."

"Okay…Where is Bella now?"

"I last saw her heading for the exit. She had left in a run."

"I should probably go to her now."

"Alright. Just sign this and you can be on your way. Again, I'm very sorry but stay positive."

Charlie nodded and signed the forms that Carlisle gave him before bidding his goodbye and leaving the hospital to find his daughter. When he reached the police cruiser, he was surprised to find that Bella wasn't in it. He looked around the parking lot to see if he spotted her, but she was nowhere in sight. Worried he got in his car and left the hospital parking lot, driving into the street and began scanning the streets for his offspring. It wasn't long before he found her walking along near the diner he used to frequent. She had to have run a bit of a long ways to get this far from the hospital.

Pulling into the parking lot of the diner, Charlie got out and walked over to Bella who was standing still with her arms wrapped around herself and her hair creating a curtain over her face. Stopping in front of her he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and softly said, "Bella."

Bella looked up at her father before tears filled her eyes and spilled over, sobs leaving escaping her lips as she leant into Charlie, crying into his shoulder. Charlie wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her as he cried, feeling her wrap her own arms around him and hold on desperately to his shirt. Hearing her sobbing pained him and he felt his eyes sting with tears.

Running a hand up and down her back he said thickly, "It's okay, kiddo. Everything will be alright. We'll get through this, you'll see."

* * *

When they pulled up in front of their house, they were both surprised to see Jacob sitting on their front porch. Father and daughter looked at each other before getting out of the police cruiser and heading towards the yellow house. Jacob stood and smiled as they approached, though the smile faded when he noticed Bella's swollen, red-rimmed eyes. Looking at Charlie he said, "Hey, Charlie. Is something wrong?"

The police chief said nothing at first, but then he said, "I think Bella should tell you, Jake."

Jacob turned to Bella and said, "Bella?"

Bella looked up at her friend before asking, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Jacob nodded as he frowned in confusion, giving Charlie a confused look before following the girl as she walked towards the woods. The two of them walked into the woods and did so for a while in silence, keeping in a straight line as to avoid getting lost. After a while Bella finally stopped and sat on an overturned tree, her hands in her jacket pockets. Jacob sat down next to her and asked, "What's going on, Bella? Please tell me."

The brunette looked at her friend for a moment before closing her eyes and saying, "Jake, I'm sick."

"Sick how?"

"…I have stomach cancer."

Jacob's brown eyes widened in shock at hearing those four words. Bella had stomach cancer. Bella had something that could potentially kill her. Turning full to face her he asked, "But you're going to be okay, right? You're getting treatment, right? You're getting better, right?"

Shaking her head Bella responded, "No."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was first diagnosed, I was between stages three and four. It had been that way for the past three years. Today I was diagnosed at fully having stage four stomach cancer."

Jacob didn't know what to say, he was in such a shock. He didn't like hearing that Bella was sick and that cancer was what was slowly killing her. And from her dejected look, it was apparent that she was beginning to give up fighting from the prospect of learning that her cancer had worsened.

Feeling a sense of duty towards Bella, Jacob grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his hands. He looked her squarely in the eye and said, "Don't worry, Bells. Everything will be okay, and I promise to be with you every step of the way through your healing."

Bella smiled kindly and replied, "That's really nice of you Jake, but I'm thinking of just not taking chemo anymore."

"No! You have to keep doing it. You have to get better."

"Jacob, it might stop working altogether. And if the cancer was already trying to take me out, then what's the point in stalling it? It will just happen eventually."

Jacob shook his head defiantly and retorted, "No, I don't believe that. You will get better. You have to continue to fight for your life, Bells, and I'll fight with you. And I'm going to show you that life is worth living, even with your illness. There won't be a day that goes by that you won't feel great when you're with me."

Bella looked at Jacob wide-eyed as she softly said, "Jake."

"Promise me that you'll fight, Bella," Jacob said looking deeply into her chocolate brown eyes.

Bella pondered Jacob's words as she stared into his brown eyes. Her mind was telling her to give up on trying to get better and to just let the cancer take its course. However, her heart was telling her to keep fighting; fight for her mother, fight for her father, fight for herself, and fight for Jacob. But was it going to be worth all of the pain and suffering she was going to go through? Being physically sick constantly and losing all of her hair, was it going to be worth it all? She didn't think so, but she found herself wanting to go through it all for Jacob. Something about him, as she had acknowledged before, made her feel safe and secure. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to keep holding on for a while longer.

Sighing Bella smiled and said, "Okay Jake, I'll continue to fight."

Jacob grinned brightly at her before enveloping her into a close hug, holding her close as he breathed in her scent. Bella felt her heart speed its beating in her chest at being so close to Jacob and she felt herself blushing from the hug, though she couldn't help but bury herself into the warmth radiating from the boy holding her in his strong arms. She didn't know what was going to happen in the future, but she was glad that Jacob was going to be by her side through it all.


	6. Chapter 6

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 6

Charlie stood leaning against the doorway of Bella's bedroom, watching as she slept curled up on her side, her back facing him. She had turned in early after eating a bit of her food, all the while telling him she wasn't sure if she was going to school the next day. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to go, especially with the news she received earlier that day. Bella had been in better spirits when Jacob had been there earlier and she told him her situation, but as soon as he left, she seemed to deflate.

He hated seeing his daughter like this, and hated it even more knowing that she would have to suffer more than she already was. It made him feel awful as a parent that he wasn't able to prevent something like this from happening, but he knew just as well as anyone that things happen and Bella having cancer was one of them. Charlie still had yet to tell Renee the news and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Sighing softly Charlie closed Bella's bedroom door then made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Walking over to the phone he picked it up and dialed his ex-wife's number before putting the phone to his ear. The phone rang about four times before it was finally answered.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ Renee's voice called through the phone.

Charlie cleared his throat before saying, "Hey, it's me."

 _"_ _Charlie? What are you calling for? I was just about to turn in for the night."_

"Renee, it's about Bella."

There was a pause on the line before Renee asked, "What happened to Bella?"

"I took Bella in for a checkup today because she had a really bad episode last night. And when the doctor came back, he said…" Charlie swallowed hardly as he felt the lump in his throat forming. "Renee, Bella's cancer has worsened. She's officially got stage four stomach cancer."

There was silence over the phone before Charlie heard what sounded like sniffling. Listening closely he could tell that Renee was crying. Wanting to comfort her as well as himself he said, "She's going to be alright, Renee. Bella will be fine, you'll see."

 _"_ _Oh Charlie, I'm so scared,"_ Renee sobbed. _"We're losing our baby and we don't know if she'll recover."_

"Don't say that. We aren't losing her."

 _"_ _But- "_

"No. Bella is still here, she's still with us. And we need to stay strong for our daughter. She needs us right now, more than ever before."

 _"_ _Everything is going to get much harder for her now. She might even have to drop out of school."_

"And we'll be there for her every step of the way. Have hope and think positive, okay Ree?"

He hadn't meant to call Renee by the nickname he gave her when they had been dating, but it slipped out in his effort to comfort her. He hoped that she missed it, but the small gasp he heard through the receiver let him know otherwise. Renee didn't respond before finally saying, _"Alright, I will. And you're right, we need to be there for her every step of the way. But I can't do that here in Florida."_

"Huh?"

 _"_ _Bella needs all the support she can get. I'm coming to Forks, Charlie; make room for me."_

"Renee, are you sure that's alright? I mean, what about Phil?"

 _"_ _I'm more concerned about our daughter than I am about Phil right now, Charlie. I'll catch the morning flight, so I should be there sometime around noon."_

"Renee- "

 _"_ _Alright, I've already booked my ticket. I'll see you and Bella tomorrow, Charlie. Take care of her until I get there. Good night!"_

Before Charlie could say any more, Renee hung up the phone. Sighing Charlie put the phone back on its rest before moving to head back up the stairs to his bedroom, mentally preparing himself to sleep on the couch. Maybe he could buy himself an air mattress before his ex-wife arrived.

* * *

Bella was lying in her bed the next morning staring at her clock. School had started thirty minutes ago and she was still at home. Angela had texted her asking where she was and she told her she was sick and wouldn't be at school for a while. It wasn't a lie, but she didn't want her friend to know. Then again, she trusted Angela out of her and Jessica, and thought maybe she should tell her. And with that in mind, she had texted her to visit her after school so she could tell her what was up with her.

Her dad had left the house, presumably to go to work, so she was home alone. Bella sat up and stretched before looking at her pill bottles on her nightstand. She wondered if she should still take them, but Carlisle hadn't said whether or not she was going to get new medication, so she figured they were still alright to take. Grabbing one of the bottles she opened it up and poured out the correct amount of pills before swallowing them down with water. Once that was done she laid back down in bed, feeling tired and drifting back into sleep.

* * *

Sharp pain in her stomach woke Bella up and she groaned as she curled up clutching her stomach. A warm hand touched her arm before moving to rub her back. The touch was familiar and comforting, and when she turned to see who was with her, she was surprised to see her mother.

"Mom?" Bella said turning over to face her mother.

Renee smiled and replied, "Hello, honey. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine. What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything."

"Charlie called me last night and told me about yesterday. Bella, I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this, but mommy is here now to help Charlie take care of you."

Bella mentally cringed at Renee calling herself 'mommy' but smiled nonetheless. She was happy to see her mother and was glad that she was there in Forks with her. Sitting up she wrapped her arms around her mother, holding her close as she softly said, "I've missed you, mom."

Renee held her daughter close as she replied, "And I've missed you, my little girl."

A clearing of the throat caught their attention and they turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck. Charlie looked at his daughter and said, "Bella, I think you should get dressed now. We're going out to eat lunch."

Bella nodded and waited until her parents had left her room, shutting the door behind them before she got out of bed and started to change out of her pajamas, opting to where a pair of faded blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. She then left her room to head to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair which she pulled back into a low ponytail. Going back to her room, she put on a pair of socks and shoes, then grabbed her brown jacket and put it on. Bella then grabbed her phone before heading downstairs to where her parents were waiting.

When the brunette reached the bottom of the stairs, Charlie looked at her and asked, "Are you ready, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Bella answered.

Renee and Charlie smiled at their daughter before they all left the Swan house to go have lunch in town. And as they piled into the police cruiser, Bella couldn't help but think that this was the first time since she was a baby that her family was together. She only wished that her family wasn't broken and that it wasn't due to her having cancer that they were all together again.


	7. Chapter 7

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 7

Bella looked at Angela stare at her in shock after revealing to her that she had cancer. She had gotten back from lunch with her parents and returned to find Angela waiting in her car in the driveway. The girl had gotten out of her car and followed Bella to her room so the brunette could tell her the daunting news. The brunette noticed tears begin to form in her friend's eyes and she reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Don't cry, Angela. I'm okay, I'll be okay," Bella told her.

Angela wiped the tears from her eyes and replied, "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so scared I'm going to lose one of my best friends. I don't know if I told you this, but I had a younger sister that died from cancer about five years ago; she was only four. I don't want to go through that again."

Bella hugged the other brunette and said, "I'm going to be alright, okay? I was originally going to not even bother with more chemotherapy when I found out that I had stage four stomach cancer. I was just going to give up and let the cancer take its course."

"What changed your mind?" Angela asked.

Before Bella could answer the door to her bedroom opened and Jacob stepped in. He stopped and looked at the two girls before saying, "I'm sorry, I should have knocked first."

Smiling Bella beckoned her friend inside and replied, "It's alright, Jake. I was just telling Angela that I had cancer and decided to fight for my life."

"That's great. I'm glad you decided to fight, Bells. And you are going to live your life to the fullest with me and your parents by your side. And Angela, too."

Jacob smiled brightly at Bella, causing her to blush a little and look down in her lap. Angela looked back and forth between them for a moment before softly saying, "Oh."

After a moment of silence Jacob cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I came over because I wanted to know if you wanted to go cliff diving."

"Cliff diving?" both girls asked in unison.

"Yeah, cliff diving. It's a lot of fun and such an adrenaline rush," Jacob answered.

"What cliff is there to jump from around here?" Bella couldn't help but ask.

Jacob grinned and replied, "You saw it the other day, Bells. When we went swimming together at First Beach, remember?"

Bella thought back to that day, vaguely remembering a cliff near the beach. She did however remember that that was the day she had that really bad episode that led to her being diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. But she did promise Jacob to fight and live her life, so she figured it couldn't be any worse than having cancer.

Nodding she said, "Okay, let's do it. Just let me change into a swimsuit first."

The Quileute boy grinned and said, "Awesome." He looked at Angela ands said, "You should come, too."

Shaking her head Angela said, "Oh no, I couldn't. I don't want to impose on you guys' time."

"You wouldn't be. Besides it's not just us, the guys will be there too. Seth's sister Leah will be there as well. And I'm sure Embry would like to see you again."

Bella had just pulled a black one piece swimsuit out of her drawer when she turned and saw Angela blushing slightly at the mention of the younger boy. She couldn't help but smile knowing that her friend thought Embry was cute and was probably smitten with him the way he was her. It was obvious to her that day he and Jacob showed up during lunch.

Grabbing another one piece swimsuit, this one red, she handed it to Angela and said, "Come on, it'll be fun. And you can borrow this since we're the same size."

Angela looked at the swimsuit before looking at Bella and Jacob. Sighing she took the swimsuit and said, "Fine, I'll go. But won't it be cold? The weather is turning cold now."

"Yeah, but we're going to build a fire afterwards on the cliff and hang out later," Jacob told her before moving to the door. "I'll wait for you girls downstairs." And he left the room and closed the door behind him.

The two girls changed into the swimsuits and pulled their clothes on over them. While they were finishing up Angela asked, "Have you thought about dating him?"

Bella looked up at her from tying her shoe and asked, "Dating who?"

"Jacob," Angela answered as she braided her hair into two pigtails. "He's obviously into you and I can tell that you are him, though you haven't realized it yet."

"I don't know about that, but even if I did, I don't think it would happen."

"Why not?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair to do that only to die from cancer months from now. I couldn't do that to him, and I wouldn't date him out of pity either."

"You don't know that, Bella. You promised to fight and live your life, and I think dating someone who treasures you should be part of it."

"Jake and I are just friends."

"Friends that are on their way to becoming more. I mean, you do like him, don't you? At least a little bit?"

Bella was quiet for a moment before nodding and answering, "Yeah, a little. I'll be honest, I feel…alive whenever I'm around him or just think of him."

Angela smiled and replied, "That's great! I think that when the time is right, you should just go for it. I'm sure it won't be unwelcomed."

The brunette rolled her eyes and said, "I'll do it only if you kiss Embry."

"Bella!" Angela exclaimed, a bright blush on her face.

The two girls laughed as they left Bella's room and headed downstairs where Jacob was waiting with Charlie and Renee. Charlie told them to be careful while Renee told them to have fun. The three teenagers promised that they would before leaving the house and piling into Jacob's Rabbit, heading towards La Push.

* * *

Brown eyes stared wide eyed as Jacob's friends jumped off of the cliff into the waves down below. So far Quil, Jared, Paul and Seth had gone, leaving Jacob, Sam, Leah, Embry, Angela, and Bella to jump. Sam looked at Leah before winking and running towards the cliff, jumping off of it and down to the water below. Leah rolled her eyes before following.

"Sam and Leah are dating, but are very competitive with each other," Jacob had told Bella when he had introduced her to them.

Embry looked at Angela before asking, "Do you want to go first?"

Angela looked over the edge where the others were waiting down below, yelling at them to jump. Looking at Embry she asked, "Are you sure it's safe to jump from here?"

"Completely safe, and I promise I'll come right after you," Embry told her with a smile.

Angela nodded before walking towards the edge. Taking a deep breath, she jumped off of the cliff and swan dived into the waves below, barely making a splash as she entered the water.

Bella's eyes widened before saying, "That's impressive."

Jacob nodded and said, "I guess, though she could've been showing off."

He laughed as Bella lightly smacked him in his stomach, chuckling as he told her he was just kidding. She looked back just in time to see Embry jump off of the cliff, leaving her and Jacob as the last ones before doing it all over again.

Jacob walked towards the edge of the cliff before turning back to the brunette. Smiling he asked, "Are you coming?"

Bella looked at him then the cliff before saying, "Yeah, I'm just…I'm a little scared."

The younger boy smiled and walked back over to Bella, gently taking her hand in his. Looking into her chocolate brown eyes he asked, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. We'll jump together, and I'll hold your hand the whole way down."

Bella stared up into Jacob's eyes, searching them for insincerity. Finding none she smiled and told him she was ready. The two of them held each other's hand tightly before running towards the cliff, jumping off of it and plummeting down towards the ocean. They hit the salty sea in a big splash, going under momentarily before resurfacing, laughter coming from their throats as the others cheered around them. Sam lead everyone from the ocean back to shore to take the path back to the top of the cliff. And the whole time Jacob didn't let go of Bella's hand, not that she was complaining. If she was honest, she didn't want to let go of his hand any time soon. Holding Jacob's hand in hers just felt…right. And the thought of her having cancer didn't once cross her mind the whole time she spent with him and their friends.


	8. Chapter 8

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 8

Renee held her daughter's hand as one of Carlisle's nurses put a needle into Bella's arm to administer her new treatment of chemotherapy. Because of her progressed cancer, the dose was higher and was mixed with different medicines, all okay for her to take and all to help try and fight the cancer cells in her stomach lining. Once Bella was set up, the nurse left leaving the mother and daughter alone. Bella looked at her mother and gave her a smile, making Renee smile back at her as she rubbed her hand with her thumb.

"How are you this morning, honey?" Renee asked.

"I'm alright. I just know I'll be sick and tired by the time treatment is over," Bella answered.

The auburn haired woman nodded and replied, "It'll be alright. I firmly believe that you will get better and you won't have to worry about all of this ever again."

Bella smiled and said, "Thanks mom, and thanks for being here with me. Not just here in the hospital, but here in Forks. I know you don't like it here, but it means a lot to me."

"Of course, Bella. I'll stay here in Forks as long as you need me to."

"And is Phil alright with that?"

"Yes, of course he is. You're my baby, and I will put you first before him and he knows that."

"But won't you miss him, and he you?"

Renee looked off to the side for a moment, a sad look coming over her face. taking a breath she answered, "I don't think he'll miss me as much as you think he might."

Bella gave her mother a confused look before asking, "What do you mean?"

There was a moment of silence before Renee finally said, "Phil and I have decided to divorce. Not to say that we don't love each other, but it's just not working out the way it once did before. We've even gone to marriage counseling and nothing has changed. It's just better if we're not together anymore."

"Mom, I'm so sorry," Bella said, leaning over to give her mother a hug while trying not to dislodge the needle in her arm.

"It's fine, honey. Besides, I'd rather focus my attention and energy on my only child anyway," Renee replied with a smile, lightly tapping Bella's nose and making the brunette giggle.

Bella grinned at her mother before closing her eyes and leaning her head back to rest as the medicine flowed through her veins. Before she knew it, she had drifted off, Renee still holding her hand in her own.

* * *

Bella dry heaved as she threw up once more into the toilet. She had woken up from her continued nap in her bed after chemotherapy and had immediately run towards the bathroom to throw up. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks as she did so, but she felt better once she was done. Taking some toilet paper she wiped her mouth and dropped it in the toilet before flushing it. Holding onto the sink she stood up on shaky legs and began to rinse her mouth out before brushing her teeth. Once she was done she grabbed her hairbrush and began to brush her brown locks.

A frown appeared on her pink lips as she noticed the amount of hair strands that she had brushed out of her hair. It was more than usual and it made her wonder how much more she was going to lose. Reaching up she lightly ran her fingers through her hair and was horrified at the amount of strands that came out. She didn't realize that she was crying until a sob escaped her throat and warm tears fell from her cheeks.

She hated herself for crying over this. She was expecting it and knew it would happen, but the reality of it still caught her by surprise. She was sick and losing her hair as a result of her treatment, without knowing whether or not the treatment would completely work. But even so, she was going to stay strong and fight, no matter how long it took.

Wiping her tears she threw her strands of hair away before leaving the bathroom and heading back to her room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Jacob standing in her room, looking at her corkboard full of pictures of family and friends. A grin found its way onto her face as she said, "Jake!"

Jacob turned and smiled as she practically ran into her room, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as he hugged her in return. Pulling away he said, "Hey, Bells. I came to see how you were feeling since you had your new round of chemo today. But from the looks of it, you seem better already."

"That's because you're here," Bella told him before she could stop herself.

A blush instantly covered Bella's face before she buried her face in her hands, not at all seeing Jacob's shocked face or the blush that covered his own cheeks. Jacob cleared his throat before saying, "Right. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out here today. You know, since you've had a bit of a rough day and probably don't feel like leaving; we could watch something on your laptop if you want to."

Bella smiled and replied, "That sounds great. Let me set it up and we can watch something. Anything in particular? Movie? Cartoon? Anime? TV show?"

"What do you know about anime, Bella?"

"Plenty! I'll have you know that I've watched _Sailor Moon, One Piece, Black Butler, Death Note,_ and _Tokyo Ghoul_ in that order."

"Uh-huh. Alright then, have you seen _Zatch Bell_?"

"What?"

Jacob grinned before saying, "We're watching that."

Bella grinned as she made herself comfortable on her bed, Jacob sitting down next to her so they could both see her laptop screen. It wasn't long before they were both watching the anime together, both becoming sucked in by it. At one point Bella's laptop died on them and they had to break to plug it in and let it charge. While it was doing that, they both talked and laughed about any and everything, neither of them noticing Charlie and Renee watching them from the doorway with smiles on their faces before they headed back downstairs. Both of them could agree that that had to be the happiest they have ever seen Bella since she was first diagnosed with stomach cancer.

* * *

Charlie stared at his daughter in shock from his armchair later that night as she stood in front of him with a pair of scissors in her hand. Blinking a few times he asked, "Could you repeat that one more time?"

Bella shifted on her feet and repeated, "I want you to cut my hair."

"…Why?"

"Because I'm losing it anyway and I'd rather it be short while I'm losing it instead of long before I go completely bald due to chemo."

Charlie wiped a hand down his face before saying, "Bella, I don't think I should be the one to do this. I mean, I might mess it up and I don't want to get yelled at by Renee once she gets out of the shower. Why not have her cut it for you?"

Bella looked at her father before sincerely saying, "I trust you, dad. And however short you cut it, I'll be happy with."

She handed him the scissors before sitting down in front of him on the floor. Charlie looked from the scissors in his hand to his daughter who was watching Investigation Discovery on the television. He knew he had a decision to make. Either he cut Bella's hair as she wished, or he could leave it alone. But if he knew his daughter the way he did, she would have her hair cut eventually.

Taking a deep breath, he placed his fingers through scissors and held the open blades to the girl's brown hair, prepared to begin snipping it away.

* * *

Bella stared at her now shoulder length hair in the mirror, impressed at the job her father had done. Charlie had cut her hair to where her hair just touched her shoulders and had somehow even added layers to it. She couldn't help but smile as she stared at herself, hearing her Renee yell at her ex-husband for cutting her hair off without letting her know ahead of time; Charlie was yelling back that it was Bella's spontaneous decision, not his.

She wondered if anyone else would like her new look. Going back to her room she grabbed her phone and took a picture of her new haircut and sent it to Jacob, asking him what he thought. His reply made her heart skip a beat.

 _You look beautiful._

Grinning widely Bella plugged in her phone before taking her medication and climbed into bed, turning her lamp off as she snuggled down into her pillow. Her nose caught a different scent than what was usually in her pillows when she went to sleep, but the scent calmed her and made her drift right off to sleep. She woke up briefly realizing that the smell belonged to Jacob before she fell asleep once more, her dreams filled with visions of her and Jacob together, holding hands and looking happy.


	9. Chapter 9

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 9

Bella sat at the table and ate her bowl of yogurt with oats and strawberries as she listened to Renee fussing with Charlie. Her mother was still upset with him for cutting her hair short. She had explained that she wanted Charlie to do so but her mother was still adamant about fussing with her father over it. Charlie was currently doing what Bella herself often did when Renee got worked up over nothing: ignoring her.

Once she finished her light breakfast she put her bowl in the sink before heading back upstairs to grab her book bag. Her parents had suggested that she stay home to recover from her chemo session from the day before, but she didn't want to. She was determined to not let her cancer keep her from going to school.

Bella entered her room and slipped her feet into her shoes and tied them before taking her medicine, and then grabbed her book bag before leaving her room. She stopped by the bathroom first and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She didn't look any different except for her obvious haircut, but she herself thought she saw slight dark circles under her eyes. Bella let out a sigh before grabbing her headband and slipped it into her hair, watching how it pushed her hair from her face. She could remember the last time she wore it; she had been dating Edward and he didn't like it in her hair and preferred her hair not pinned back, so she stopped wearing it to please him. A scoff escaped Bella's mouth as she thought of how stupid she had been for dating the self-righteous asshole. She smiled at herself in the mirror before heading back down the stairs.

"I'm going!" Bella called to her parents as she slipped her jacket on.

Charlie appeared from the living room with a cup of coffee in his hand and smiled saying, "Alright then, have a good day at school."

Renee stepped up beside of Charlie and said, "Yes, have a good day sweetheart. And don't be shy to hang out with friends after school if you want to. Especially that handsome Jacob Black."

"Mom," Bella said in exasperation, though a blush appeared on her face.

Charlie shook his head before waving after his daughter as she grabbed her keys and hurried out of the door. He listened to her truck roar to life and waited until Bella had completely left the driveway before turning to face his ex-wife. Looking down at her he asked, "Did you have to say that to her? I don't think Bella is looking for another boy to date right now."

Renee placed her hands on her hips and asked in return, "Don't you think Jacob and Bella would make a perfect couple?"

"Of course I do, and I'm rooting for them to realize they have feelings for each other, but it won't happen with you pushing it."

"If I don't push it, it will never happen. I know our daughter; she's just like you so I know when I have to step in. I had to push you to ask me out when we were younger because you were too stubborn to do so. I can't believe you made me make the first move."

"I was working on it!"

"No, you weren't! Now go to work before you're late."

"I'm the chief of police; I can go when I please."

The auburn haired woman rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Charlie standing in front of the door alone. She didn't care what Charlie said, she was making it her mission for Bella and Jacob to become a couple at least by Thanksgiving. Unless they did so on their own, of course.

* * *

Bella walked to her locker and spun the lock on it, putting in her combination before opening it. While she was exchanging her books Angela walked up to her and gave her a grin.

"Look at you!" Angela said. "You've cut your hair!"

"Yeah, I know," Bella replied with a smile. "Do you like it?"

Angela nodded and answered, "I love it. I haven't seen it pinned back in a while. It suits you and I bet Jacob will think so, too."

Bella blushed and said, "I actually sent him a picture of it and he replied that I look beautiful."

The two girls giggled softly as Bella finished getting her books and closed her locker. Walking to their homeroom together Angela said, "I wonder what Edward will think when he sees you."

"Who cares? He's dead to me," Bella replied.

Angela laughed as they entered their classroom and sat at their desks while waiting for class to start. Jessica quickly made her way towards them to talk with Bella about her haircut before telling them about how she and Mike were going to see a movie later that night. Bella rolled her eyes at the news, knowing that it was part of the cycle he and Jessica were in. They'd date, then they wouldn't date; Jessica would pine for Edward and Mike would try to get Bella to go on a date with him. Then they would get back together and the cycle would start all over again. Bella preferred to stay out of it and deal with a relationship of her own, though she wasn't in one.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out seeing that she had a text from Jacob. Opening it she read what he had sent, a smile coming to her face before she typed a reply. Just as she put her phone back in her pocket, her teacher entered the classroom and began roll call. And as she waited for her name to be called, Bella couldn't wait for lunch hour to roll around.

* * *

Jacob leaned against his motorcycle in the student parking lot of Forks High School, waiting for Bella to come out. He had invited her to have lunch with him in town and she had agreed much to his excitement. He was really happy to be able to see and spend time with the brunette. Of course he worried about her now that he knew she had cancer, but he refused to treat her any differently than he had before, knowing Bella wouldn't want nor like that.

The sound of the school bell rang, alerting him that it was now lunch time for Bella. Students began to exit the building that was planning to eat off campus. Many of them looked at him wondering who he was, most of them females that were smiling and giggling like idiots while ogling him. He was wearing a black t-shirt that allowed his muscular arms to show and defined his muscular pectorals, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. His black hair was cropped short on his head and he his tanned skin seemed to glow in the sunlight that shined through the clouds.

Jacob's brown eyes finally saw the one person he was looking for and they lit up at the sight of her. He smiled as Bella made her way over to him before wrapping his arms around her in a hug. If both of them were aware of the many people staring at them, they ignored it. Pulling away he said, "Hey Bells."

"Hey," Bella replied, though she thought it sounded like she breathed it out.

Jacob grinned before lifting a hand and touching Bella's now short brown hair. He ran his fingers through it for a minute before pulling his hand away. Looking down at her he asked, "Are you ready?"

Bella nodded and allowed Jacob to get on his bike before she sat on it behind him. Wrapping her arms around him from behind she asked, "Is this safe?"

"I got here on it, didn't I?" Jacob asked before revving the engine.

"But what about helmets?"

"Don't have any."

"But Jake- Whoa!"

Jacob had suddenly taken off, affectively cutting of Bella's complaint and was soon speeding out of the parking lot. Once he hit the main road he drove on towards a diner. It wasn't the usual one he knew Charlie went to, but it was just as good and he knew Bella would love it.

While Jacob was wrapped up in his own thoughts, Bella was holding onto her friend for dear life. His sudden take off had scared her and Bella was afraid to take her face out of the strong, firm back. She couldn't help but berate Jacob in her mind for being reckless enough to ride around on a motorcycle without so much as a helmet. However, she couldn't stop the feeling of excitement of being on a motorcycle and feeling the wind in her hair.

It wasn't long before Jacob pulled into the parking lot of the diner and stopped the bike, killing the engine. Looking over his shoulder he asked, "Are you alright, Bells?"

Bella nodded and breathed out, "Yeah."

"Awesome. Now let's go eat," Jacob said before getting off of the bike, and then helping Bella off of it as well. They entered the dining establishment and were seated at a table for two. A waitress gave them menus before taking their drink orders and walked away. As she looked at the different food choices Bella decided to speak.

"So what made you want to have lunch with me today?"

Jacob looked at the brunette and smiled before saying, "I'd have lunch with you everyday if I could."

Bella blushed and hid her face behind her menu, ignoring Jacob's amused chuckle. She knew he had said that on purpose and it still made her flustered. It wasn't long before the waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders of food. It wasn't lost on Bella that the waitress was flirting with Jacob and she couldn't help but feel annoyed by it. The damn waitress kept asking Jacob if he wanted anything else when he repeatedly kept answering 'no'. Finally having enough of the persistent waitress Bella said, "If you're done here, take our orders to the cook. We don't have all day to stick around here just so you can flirt with an underage boy. Now step and do your job before I report you for not doing it."

The waitress looked very put out from the sudden confrontation and she flushed in embarrassment while glaring at the brunette before turning around and practically stomping away. As soon as she was gone Jacob burst into laughter. Through his laughter he looked at Bella and said, "You don't know how jealous you sounded just now."

"I was not jealous," Bella replied crossing her arms, though she felt her cheeks heat up. "I was just getting annoyed that she wasn't making haste to deliver our food orders and wanted to make googly eyes at you. And her doing it shamelessly in front of me was disgusting."

"Sounds like jealousy to me."

"It wasn't."

"Deny it all you want, Bells. But I'm happy to know that you are my friend and like me enough to be possessive."

Jacob winked at her as he took a sip of his beverage, chuckling again when Bella blushed and looked away from him, grumbling under her breath. He had to admit he liked Bella, maybe even more than a friend, and he enjoyed spending time with her, even tease her a bit. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he and Bella might possibly have limited time together if her condition worsened more than it already has, so he was going to treasure every moment he had with the brunette.

A different waitress, a middle aged woman, brought them their plates of food a little later and they both dug into their lunches. They talked the whole time, enjoying each other's company. Bella couldn't help but smile as Jacob enthusiastically told her about an internship he got at a car shop in Port Angeles. She was happy for him that he was able to get an internship in his passion, not to mention that it was also paid as well. Her chocolate brown eyes observed him and took in every detail about his handsome face. She felt her heart beat a bit faster than it was as she looked at him, causing her to look down at her food for a moment so she could calm her heartbeat. Bella had a feeling as to why her heart began to beat like that while she was looking at her friend, but she decided to ignore it.

Before long they had finished eating and Jacob paid for their food before they left. Bella had insisted she pay for her own plate, but Jacob insisted on paying. They left the diner and climbed back on Jacob's motorbike before heading back to Bella's school.

When they got there, Jacob rode Bella right back into the parking lot before stopping it so she could get off. Bella turned to Jacob and smiled before saying, "Thank you, Jake. I had a good time."

"No problem. Let's do it again sometime," Jacob replied with a grin.

Bella nodded and hugged the younger boy before pulling away. Just as he was about to ride away she called out, "Jake, wait!"

Jacob turned to her and said, "Yeah?"

After a moment of hesitation Bella said, "We can hang out later today after school, if you want to of course."

A smile spread on Jacob's face and he nodded before saying, "I'll see you later."

Bella watched him ride off on his bike and out of site headed back to his own school before turning to walk into her own school, intent on finding Angela. She had promised to inform her on how lunch with Jacob had went, while also telling her that she was just nosy. Even so, Bella couldn't help but smile as she thought of her and Jacob hanging out more later that afternoon.


	10. Chapter 10

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 10

Time had passed and Bella and Jacob had been spending time together more times than not. There probably wasn't a day in the week that went by that they weren't together for a few hours of the day. And if Bella was honest with herself, she had never felt so alive than when she was with Jacob. He had so much life in him and it filled her with what she had been lacking in the past three years. He made her forget about her troubles, her worries, her cancer. Jacob was amazing to Bella; he was special; he was…everything. And in the midst of her realizing this, she also realized something else that caught her completely by surprise: she liked Jacob. She really, genuinely liked Jacob as more than a friend. Upon realizing this she was scared to do anything about it because he was younger than her and even though she was getting treatment, her stomach cancer could cause her to become deathly ill. But after a chat with both Angela and her mother (the latter being the most embarrassing), she decided to just deal with it head on. And with the holidays right around the corner, Bella believed this to be the perfect opportunity to let Jacob know how she felt.

* * *

Bella stood in the store looking at the different iron skillets she could get for the house, humming along to the Christmas music playing over the store. She needed a new skillet because Charlie had somehow ruined the one that she had in the kitchen. She wasn't sure how and didn't care to know, she just decided to buy a new one. Right when she was about to take one off of the shelf to inspect, a voice she currently loathed reached her ear.

"Hello Bella," Edward greeted as he sidled up next to her. "Fancy seeing you in here."

"Edward," Bella said, blatantly refusing to look at the boy.

Edward reached a hand out and touched the brunette's short hair before saying, "You know I always preferred you with longer hair. It made you look so much more becoming."

Bella paused before saying, "So you're saying I'm only pretty with long hair. Gee, thanks."

"That's not what I meant, Bella."

"I don't really care what you meant. In fact I really don't care to hear anything that you need to say."

"Bella, can't we talk about us?"

"There is no us."

"But I miss you."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did every time you fucked Tanya behind my back when we were dating."

"Bella- "

"But it's fine, I've moved on. And he's so much more of a gentleman than you'll ever be."

Edward bristled for a moment before asking, "You mean that Quileute boy that you rode on the motorcycle with? Everyone has been talking about it and it's rumored that you are dating him."

Bella shrugged and replied, "It's really none of your business, Edward."

"It is if you are doing anything reckless, and this boy just seems as if he is nothing but trouble. He's no good for you Bella, unlike me."

Feeling anger bubble up inside of her Bella turned to face the copper haired boy with a steely glare and said, "You don't know anything about Jacob. You have no right to say anything about him. And how I spend my time with him is my business and my business alone. Now you can step off and leave me the hell alone. I'm trying to finish shopping for Christmas and you being in my breathing space are a hindrance and an annoyance."

"Bella, now I'm trying to be civil."

"And I will be less than civil in the next ten seconds if you don't get away from me."

"And what exactly are you threatening to do if I don't?"

Bella's lips turned into an almost sinister smile, surprising Edward while also making him feel uncomfortable. Before he could do or say anything Bella grabbed one of the iron skillets from the shelf by its handle and swung it at the boy's head. Edward threw his hand up to prevent it from hitting his face, but the pain that shot through his hand and fingers caused him to let out a pained yell. Clutching his hand he backed away from the brunette and yelled, "What is wrong with you?!"

The hard stare he got in response with a promise of another swing was answer enough for Edward Cullen. He hissed once more before turning and hurrying away from Bella and out of the store. Bella smiled and looked down at the skillet in her hand before nodding and heading to checkout.

* * *

The Christmas Eve party that Renee had thrown was in full swing and everyone was enjoying themselves. Well, everyone that is except for Bella. Bella was currently locked in the bathroom throwing up, trying to keep her retching down so no one could hear it. Though if she thought about it, with how loud _Jingle Bell Rock_ was playing downstairs, she doubted anyone would be able to hear it.

Wiping her mouth she flushed the toilet and stood up from the floor, gripping the sink tightly as she stood. She brushed her teeth to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth before looking at herself in the mirror. The circles under her eyes were darker and she was looking thinner than she did before. It probably wasn't noticeable to others, but she could tell that she lost weight in her face. Her arms were trembling as she leant against the sink for support.

Bella had no idea if she was getting better. The new rounds of chemotherapy were making her very sick, but she supposed that was part of the process of healing. She was doing her best to keep her head up, but with her body responding to the treatment the way it was she could only hope that it was working through all that she was experiencing. Even the last type of treatment she had wasn't this bad.

A knock on the bathroom door got her attention and she called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Bells," Jacob's voice responded through the door.

Bella smoothed her short hair a bit and brushed it back behind her ears before opening the door. She looked up at Jacob who was waiting for her, returning the smile he gave her. However her smile turned out rather tired and when she went to take a step out of bathroom, she felt lightheaded and lost her balance, falling right into Jacob's arms.

Alarmed Jacob said, "Bella!"

The brunette gripped her friend's strong arms and said, "I'm alright, Jake. Don't worry about me."

"Impossible not to anyway," Jacob replied, a teasing hint to his voice, though his face had a worried expression on it. He helped Bella stand upright and once she was steady he suggested, "How about we go back downstairs and join the rest of the party."

"Okay, but can we wait for a moment? I want to do something first."

"Sure Bells, what is it?"

Bella beckoned Jacob to follow her and they walked to her bedroom. Jacob watched as Bella opened a drawer at her desk and rummaged around in it for a moment before pulling her hand out. In her hand she held a small flat box, a box used to hold jewelry, at best a necklace, with a bright green bow stuck on top of it. She smiled and held it out to him saying, "Merry Christmas, Jake."

Jacob stared at the box in Bella's hands for a moment before saying, "Gosh Bells, I don't know what to say."

"Start with 'thank you'", Bella replied playfully, laughing softly when Jacob playfully nudged her chin with his fist. Looking up at him she said, "You don't need to get me anything in return. It's not much but I hope you like it."

The brunette placed the box in Jacob's hand and waited for him to open it. Jacob looked at his friend for a moment before slowly lifting the lid on the box. His eyes widened as he saw a necklace inside, more specifically a gold locket. It wasn't one of those heart shaped ones, just a simple ovular shape, but it wasn't the locket itself that made him stare. No, it was the words on the locket. In fancy writing the locket said _My Jake._

Slowly lifting the locket out of the jewelry box Jacob opened the locket and peered at its contents. On the right was a small picture of the two of them together. It was a picture he had taken of them on his phone when they had been hanging out on First Beach sitting on the old log that was always there; Jacob had his arm wrapped around Bella and was holding her to him in a hug, her head tucked beneath his chin. They were both smiling at the camera and both of their eyes were shining brightly. Bella had asked him to send the picture to her and he had done so. On the left side of the locket was an inscription that read _My best friend and more._

Jacob continued to stare at the locket in awe, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Was Bella trying to let him know something, or was he over thinking it? He liked Bella a lot but he didn't want to get his hopes up if this was just platonic.

Bella cleared her throat and fidgeted with her sweater sleeve nervously before saying, "I'm not really good with words when it comes to discussing my feelings. I thought maybe this would be a good way with getting them across."

"Bella," Jacob began slowly. "Do you…like me?"

"Well yes, but I also _like_ you. Like you-like you, I mean, and a lot."

Jacob couldn't believe his ears, but he also couldn't stop the huge grin that spread across his face. Turning his gaze to the brunette he stepped over to her and reached out, gently taking her face in his hands. He could feel how thin her face was in his hands, knowing it was her being sick from treatment for her cancer that was causing her to lose what weight she had, but she was just as beautiful to him as ever. Without hesitation he leant down and gently pressed his lips against Bella's in a soft kiss. Bella gasped softly into the kiss, but closed her eyes and kissed Jacob back just as softly with passion behind it. Her hands clutched the front of his shirt and she couldn't help but step closer to him.

The two of them stood kissing for what seemed like forever until they had to part for air. They looked at each other with flushed faces, Bella more so that Jacob, and they both let out small bits of soft laughter. Jacob cleared his throat before saying, "Let me take you out on a proper date later after Christmas. It can be our first official one being a couple. If you want to be my girlfriend, I mean."

Bella giggled and nodded before hugging Jacob close to her, feeling his strong arms wrap around her in return. She felt so happy at that moment and the world seemed to melt away around them, despite the blasting Christmas music from the party downstairs. But even though she felt happy, she needed to speak to Jacob about her fears.

Pulling away she looked up at Jacob and said, "Jake, I want to talk to you about us being a couple and me having stomach cancer."

Jacob placed a finger over her lips and said, "I know what you want to talk about Bells. You have fears and reservations about dating me because you believe your cancer will win out and you'll die. However, I'm not worried. I know you'll beat this and be healthy again."

"I just don't want to hurt you if everything ends that way."

"It would have only hurt if you never knew how I feel about you. Don't think so much about it, Bells. Let's just take everything one step at a time."

Bella's chocolate eyes looked into Jacob's brown ones for a moment before she smiled softly and nodded. She would take everything one step at a time with Jacob as a couple. He was already filling her life with so much joy; she couldn't imagine that being in a relationship with him would be any less joyful.

Jacob placed the locket around his neck before taking Bella's hand and holding it tightly. He bent over and kissed her cheek before smiling and saying, "Just so you know, you have a present at my house waiting for you. If I had known you were going to give me my present early, I would've brought it with me."

The two of them giggled as they left Bella's bedroom, heading back down the stairs to join the rest of the party. And for the rest of the night they stayed together, lost in their own little world together while Renee, Charlie, and Billy looked on with smiles on their faces.


	11. Chapter 11

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 11

Christmas and New Years had passed by and Jacob and Bella's relationship had changed from best friends to romantic couple. And their relationship really was romantic. Jacob seemed to be the embodiment of a perfect prince; at least that was what the envious girls at Bella's school would say. They were very envious of Bella and wished frequently that they were the ones being picked up on a motorcycle by the Quileute boy or being loved and hugged on, sharing sweet kisses with him. Even the ones that had boyfriends wished that their significant other was like the motorcycle riding boy and would show affection to them the way he did to Bella. All in all Bella and Jacob were the "it" couple and it wasn't long before everyone in the little town of Forks, Washington and La Push knew it.

Bella herself was very much enjoying the time she was spending with Jacob. It was still hard for her to believe that he was now her boyfriend, but at the same time it was so real that she couldn't help but smile at the prospect of it. She would admit, she really had a few doubts that Jacob would probably get tired of her, especially with having to deal with her whenever she was dealing with her cancer, but he had yet to leave and would constantly reassure her that he was there to stay and that she was going to fight and beat her stage four stomach cancer. And she couldn't help but believe him whenever he told her so. He, along with her parents, his dad, and Angela believed it and had faith that she would. And as pessimistic as she was most of the time, she was starting to truly believe that she would, too.

* * *

"Bella! Come down, would you please!" Renee called up the stairs one Saturday morning in March while drying her hands from doing the dishes. When she heard no movement following her voice, she called again, "Bella!"

Renee frowned when her daughter still had yet to answer. Feeling concerned she headed up the stairs and down the hallway to peer into her daughter's bedroom. Seeing it empty she said, "Bella?"

"I-In here," Bella's voiced drifted from the direction of the bathroom, her voice sounding shaky.

The woman went to the bathroom to the slightly ajar door and lightly pushed it open. The sight that greeted her made her gasp and cover her hand with her mouth. Bella was standing at the sink looking paler than she ever had, she had dark circles under her eyes, she had lost more weight in her face and in general, and her brown hair was so thin and was now sporting bare patches exposing her scalp. Walking over to her she gently grabbed her shoulders and said, "Oh baby."

Bella slowly ran her fingers through her hair and stared at the clump of brown hair that came out. She looked up at her mother and said, "I look horrible, mom."

"Honey, I knew the last round of chemotherapy you had last week was rough on you and you had to miss school for the rest of the week, but I didn't know it was affecting you this bad. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want you to worry. And honestly my hair began falling out like this two days ago." Bella coughed some before clearing her throat and speaking again. "Also, I haven't had much of an appetite since the chemo. Then again, Dr. Cullen said that that dose was going to be a bit more than usual and might affect me like this, but it's all part of the healing process. You have to take the good with the bad, right? And like you always say, there's a rainbow at the end of the storm."

"Yeah…" Renee said softly. She was happy that her daughter was being a bit optimistic about her healing, but she couldn't help but feel sad seeing her only child like this. She looked at Bella's thinning and falling out hair and lightly touched it before pulling her hand away.

Bella looked at herself in the mirror with a sad expression before saying, "I really do look horrible. How can Jake even stand to look at me?"

Renee hugged her daughter and said, "Honey, don't be ridiculous. Jacob adores you and doesn't care what you look like. And he is so supportive of you during this rough time in your life. You are beautiful to him no matter what; you have to remember that."

"She's right, you know," a voice suddenly cut in. Bella and Renee turned to see Jacob standing in the doorway of the bathroom, his brown eyes gazing at his girlfriend with a genuine, loving smile on his face.

"Jake," Bella said softly, her face turning red at the realization that her boyfriend had heard what she said and said something in response to her mother's words. She pulled away from her mother and stepped up to him before saying, "I was hoping you'd never see me like this."

Jacob wrapped his strong arms around her thin body, holding her close to him. Kissing her forehead he replied, "I don't care, Bella. A change in appearance isn't going to change how I feel about you. And I promised you that no matter what you have to go through dealing with this disease, I will always be by your side."

"And you'll still think I'm pretty when I go completely bald?"

"Yes, even then."

Bella was really touched by Jacob's reassuring words and she wrapped her own arms around his waist, returning his hug as she leant her head against his broad, muscular chest. Jacob was such a sweetheart and she firmly believed that God spent extra time creating this angel just for her. Her support system was small, but Jacob seemed to be a full sixty percent of it, the other forty percent her parents, Angela, and Dr. Cullen. She looked up at her boyfriend and gave him a genuine, loving smile that she seemed to reserve just for him. Even her eyes, as tired as they looked, were shining.

Pulling away she looked up at him and said, "I feel better now."

Jacob smiled and kissed her sweetly on the lips before saying, "That's great. And don't worry about losing your hair. You'll get to wear the awesome beanies I brought you."

The brunette tilted her head as she watched Jacob leave the bathroom and head down the hall. She looked back at her mom and said, "I've never worn a beanie."

Renee smiled and replied, "He probably thinks you might prefer it to the scarves most cancer patients wear from losing their hair from chemotherapy."

Bella nodded before leaving the bathroom to head back to her room, her mother following her only to head back down the stairs. In her room Jacob was sitting on her bed with a bag in his hand. He smiled at her as she walked over to him and sat down next to him. Reaching into the bag he said, "I bought three of them, and I thought you might like it better than a scarf."

"Funny, mom said the same thing," Bella said.

Jacob chuckled as he pulled out a solid grey beanie and handed it to his girlfriend. He reached into the bag again and pulled out a dark blue one, followed by the last one that was black. Handing them to the brunette he said, "I know you're not really into bright colors, so I thought these would be a good start. And look at the blue one along the edge."

Bella did so and saw sewn in white thread _My Bells, love Jake._ She couldn't help but smile at the little inscription and run her finger over it. Putting the other two beanies aside, she stood and walked over to the mirror in her room and put the piece of headwear on. After fixing it to her desired style she turned back to her boyfriend and asked, "How do I look?"

"Awesome," the Quileute boy answered with a wide grin on his face. Standing he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. Looking at her through the mirror he said, "And you'll always be beautiful to me, during this process and after when you recover from beating your stomach cancer."

Another smile found its way on Bella's face as she looked at him for a moment before kissing his temple. Looking back into the mirror at herself she looked at the beanie rested on her head, covering the bald patches of her thinning hair. Reaching up she took it off, looking at the strands of hair that went with it. It probably wouldn't be long before she completely lost all of her hair. She could bet that her next round of chemo would be what did it. Making a decision she nodded and moved away from Jacob, walking towards her desk to get something. Jacob's eyes widened when he saw what exactly she had in her hands.

Holding up the pair of scissors Bella said, "Jake, I trust you."

"Uh, you mean, you really want me to cut your hair?" Jacob asked just to make sure he wasn't wrong about what Bella wanted him to do. When he received a nod, he hesitantly took the scissors before saying, "Only if you're sure."

"I am, just like I was when I got Charlie to cut it the first time. Oh, and Charlie's hair clippers and in the bathroom as well for what you can't cut off with the scissors."

"Yeah, but you're asking me to make you bald."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jacob stared at his girlfriend for a moment before nodding and telling Bella to sit in her computer chair. He grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her shoulders before taking a deep breath and bringing the blades of the scissors to her brown locks. Taking a deep breath, he began to snip off Bella's hair shorter and shorter.

* * *

Charlie and Renee sat and watched in silence as their daughter and her boyfriend cuddled on the couch, Bella almost asleep in Jacob's arms, her now bare head rested on his shoulder. Renee had heard the clippers the moment they were turned on and caught them in the act. Her daughter had immediately told her that she wanted and asked Jacob to do that to her and to not flip out, not that she was going to; she was just surprised. Charlie on the other hand was more than caught by surprise to return from work to see his only child completely bald. After he had calmed down from his shock, his ex-wife told him Bella's reasons and he was able to accept it afterwards.

The two adults continued to stare at the teenagers before Charlie gently grabbed Renee's hand and drug her towards the kitchen. Once they reached it he let go of her hand and turned to face her. Looking down at her he asked, "What's going through your mind right now?"

Renee shrugged before saying, "I don't know. I guess I'm just thinking about whether or not we will have more years with our daughter or will she ultimately succumb to her stomach cancer." She looked up at her ex-husband to see a frown on his face. "I don't mean to sound negative or anything, but just seeing her earlier today really scared me, though I didn't let her know that."

"She knows we're scared for her, even without saying so. But it's important that we believe that she will get better. After all you have enough faith for the both of us," Charlie replied.

Charlie placed a comforting hand on Renee's shoulder and rubbed it a bit before leaving her to tell Jacob that he needed to be heading home soon.

* * *

Bella walked Jacob out to his Rabbit, her new beanie on her head and her hand in his bigger one. When they reached his car he turned to her and pulled her into a warm embrace, not wanting to let go. He wasn't the only one, though. Bella herself didn't want their time to end just yet, but if she was honest she felt so close to falling asleep and just wanted to snuggle up in her bed.

Turning her head up to Jacob she said softly, "I'll see you later."

Smiling Jacob nodded and said, "See you later."

The two of them shared a kiss before Jacob got in his car and drove away towards home. Bella stood and watched him leave until he was completely out of sight, then she turned around and walked back inside her home. She gave her parents each a goodnight hug before heading up to her bedroom. Changing into her sleepwear she took her beanie off and put it with the other two before pulling her sheets back and climbing into bed. After taking her medications she turned her lamp off and snuggled under her bed sheets, pulling her comforter up to her chin. And as she drifted off into sleep, a soft smile appeared on her lips as her dreams were filled with her wonderful, wonderful Jacob.


	12. Chapter 12

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 12

Bella sat at the table eating her yogurt cup in silence the next morning. She had to head to school in the next ten minutes to make it on time, but she wanted to take some time before going. Also she was a bit nervous about what the day would bring. Everyone was going to see that she was bald now and then would probably assume or ask if she was sick. So essentially she was really just stalling.

Her phone buzzed on the table next to her hand alerting her of an incoming text. Opening it she smiled seeing it was from Jacob. He was asking if it was alright for him to call at the moment. Taking the initiative she called him first, listening to the ringing for a few seconds before the line was picked up.

 _"_ _Morning Bells!"_ Jacob said cheerfully into the phone.

Bella giggled and replied, "Morning Jake. How are you?"

 _"_ _I'm good, how about you?"_

"I'm alright."

 _"_ _Are you sure? You sound a little off."_

She couldn't help but smile at his unseen observation. He knew all about how her emotions worked and when she was feeling down outside of her usual self. Even when he wasn't with her and she tried to act as if she was alright, he always knew she wasn't and would make her feel better. Sighing she said, "I'm just nervous, I guess. I have to go to school in a few minutes and I'm slightly worried about how everyone is going to react to seeing me with no hair. I'll be wearing one of the beanies you gave me, but if they make me take it off in class then I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle the stares."

Jacob was silent for a moment before he said, _"Don't go anywhere, Bella. I'll be there soon, just sit tight."_

"Okay," Bella said before they hung up. She finished the rest of her yogurt and had a cup of apple juice before waiting for her boyfriend to show up. While she did she went back upstairs to her room to get her book bag and choose which of the beanies she wanted to wear. Considering she was wearing grey jeans and a black shirt, she decided on the grey beanie to accompany her pants. After putting it on and adjusting it in the mirror, she headed back downstairs and just in time because when she hit the landing, Jacob knocked on the door.

Opening the door she smiled up at her boyfriend and greeted, "Hey."

Jacob grinned and wrapped his girlfriend in a warm, loving hug, kissing her sweetly on the lips. Pulling away he said, "Hi Bells. Hey, get your bag and let's go."

"Are we going to school already?"

"Not quite, but I am dropping you off, and I'll be coming to see you at lunch."

Bella smiled at the sweet statement before nodding and grabbing her book bag. She shouted 'goodbye' to her mother since her father had already left for work, then walked out of the house and with Jacob to his car. They got in and buckled up, and then Jacob pulled out of the driveway and headed into town. Along the way Bella and Jacob talked about any and everything, all the while having their fingers entwined with each other's. About two minutes later Jacob turned into a parking lot that Bella wasn't really familiar with. He parked the car and told her that he would be back soon, then he got out and entered the building. Five minutes later he walked out with a smile holding a bouquet of red, yellow, pink, and orange roses in his hand. Bella smiled brightly as he got back inside the car and handed them to her.

"What are these for?" Bella asked taking them.

"Just so you remember that I'm happy to have you in my life, I care about you more than anything, and that you will be happy and have some positive energy going into school today," Jacob answered. "I told the clerk that I wanted all of that for you and she picked out these colors. Do you like it?"

"I love it."

Jacob smiled and kissed her cheek before pulling out of the parking lot and heading to Forks High to drop off Bella. Five minutes later they arrived and he stopped his car. He noticed Bella become rigid briefly and he reached over and gently took her hand.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention. When she turned to look at him he kissed her hand, then her lips before saying, "You've got this. And don't worry about people talking; it's none of their business anyway. Besides, your real friends will stick by you."

Bella smiled at her boyfriend's wise words. Sometimes she forgot he was two years younger than she was. Nodding she kissed him back and told him that she'd see him later before adjusting her beanie and opening the car door. She got out of the car, grabbed her book bag and her bouquet of roses, and then closed the door, waving after Jacob who was driving away. Taking a deep breath she turned and walked into the school to her locker with her head held high, all the while well aware of the stairs and whispers following her.

* * *

"Miss Swan?" her teacher called to her.

Looking up from her Calculus sheet, Bella said, "Uh, yes?"

Her teacher looked at her for a minute before giving her a sympathetic smile and saying, "I know you don't want to and I wish I didn't have to make you, but I'm going to have to ask you to take your beanie off."

Bella sat still for a moment, feeling everyone's gazes on her. Angela, who was sitting next to her, reached out and gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and smiled at her, letting her know it was going to be okay. Nodding Bella took a breath and reached up to take the beanie off, revealing to everyone her bald head. Gasps flittered around the room as her classmates stared. Some of them had already assumed she didn't have hair anymore, others had thought she had cropped it short, but seeing her now was still a shock to them. Brown eyes looked down at her paper to avoid eye contact with anyone, but then Bella remembered the roses in her locker and Jacob's words and gesture behind them. She smiled and looked up at Angela who was grinning proudly at her, then at her teacher who was smiling.

Unbeknownst to Bella, her teacher had figured she was sick as she had taken in how Bella seemed to be losing weight and the circles under her eyes were getting darker. There would also be times she would see hair strands on her desk after class; not a strand here or there like the other girls, but clumps. And when Bella wouldn't show up for class a few days in a row, she began to seriously think her student had cancer. It wasn't until she overheard the nurse talking to the principal about it and how Bella might have to pull out of school in the future because of it did her suspicions become confirmed. But seeing the usually timid girl sitting in front of her right now with her head held high made her smile. The girl must have a great support system and be taking her cancer by the balls to have a new found confidence like this. Deciding it was time to get her class back under control, she got them to be quiet and stop staring at Bella, and began teaching again.

* * *

At lunch Bella sat with Angela and Jessica outside, deciding to get some fresh air. Jessica had been shocked to see her friend with no hair, but as nosy as she was decided to respect Bella's privacy about it. So instead she was talking Bella and Angela up about prom, something Bella hadn't thought about at all until now.

"So I was thinking that after school we go prom dress shopping," Jessica said with an excited glint in her eyes."

Angela shrugged and said, "I don't know, Jess. I mean, I don't know if I want to go to prom this year."

"Is it because of Eric? There are other men out there that would love to take you to prom."

"Yes, especially if his name starts with an 'E' and lives on the Reservation," Bella put in, laughing when Angela hit her in her shoulder with a blush on her face.

Jessica giggled at her friends' antics before asking, "So is that a 'yes'?"

Before either of them could answer a voice behind them said, "Bella."

The smile on Bella's face instantly disappeared as she turned around and said, "Edward."

Edward stared down at her for a moment before saying, "I heard that you cut all of your hair off."

"And?"

"Why would you do that, love? It was so beautiful, even the first time you decided to cut it."

"Okay one, don't call me that. Two, it's none of your damn business as to why. I'm not obligated to tell you anything anyway, so leave me alone."

The bronze haired boy's green eyes narrowed before he said, "Bella, my patience is running thin with this attitude of yours."

Bella smirked and replied, "Good, then maybe you'll understand how everyone else feels about you and your pompous, holier than thou self."

"You used to not think that of me."

"Maybe, but you made me feel inadequate and like I had to conform into this perfect girl image just for you. I was never really happy; I just made myself think I was. And then you cheated on me, _twice._ But now I don't have to be someone I'm not and I have someone who likes me for me, listens to me, and doesn't make me feel worthless. And he is ten times the man you will ever be. Now if you will be so kind as to piss off."

Edward stared in shock as his ex-girlfriend turned her back to him, blatantly ignoring him. He couldn't believe she had just said all of that to him. Had she lost her mind? No one ever spoke to him that way. Feeling anger he reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her up from her seat. Looking into shocked brown eyes he was about to speak when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his shirt and jerked backwards, causing him to let go of Bella. He then was turned and grabbed by the front of his shirt and jerked forward until he was nose to nose with a tall, furious looking Quileute boy. Edward realized that this was the one always with Bella, her new boyfriend. The boy was taller than him by at least a half foot and he belatedly realized that he was being held off of the ground.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" the boy growled.

"N-Nothing," Edward stammered, actually feeling fear for once.

Bella looked at the scene before saying, "Let him go, Jake. I don't want you in trouble for beating him up, no matter how much he deserves it."

Jacob glared at the pale boy before nodding and tossing him aside. He walked over to Bella and wrapped her in a hug, kissing the top of her beanie covered head. He looked back at Edward to see him standing up and glaring at him saying, "I'll tell my father about this. And just you wait; you'll wish you hadn't crossed me."

"And you think I'll be scared. I know who you are and believe it or not, my dad knows yours. When I tell him what I witnessed and Bella tells her side as well, your words will hold no value," Jacob said with a smug look on his face.

Edward stared at him, then at Bella before scoffing and stalking off. As soon as he was gone Bella turned to Jacob and said, "I'm glad you showed up."

"Me too," Jacob replied with a smile. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"Nope."

"Good, because I would have killed him if he did."

Bella giggled and kissed Jacob before bringing him to sit with her and her friends. She then realized that Embry had been there to and was sitting next to Angela, the two of them talking. There was also another boy and he was talking up Jessica who had a look of annoyance as well as intrigue on her face. Bella recognized him as Jacob's friend Quil and said, "Hi Quil."

Quil looked up from hearing his name and smiled saying, "Hiya, Bella. I don't know if you know it yet, but Jake talks about you all of the time. He never shuts up about you."

Jacob took a balled up napkin and lobbed it at his friend's head, making everyone laugh. Jessica took the opportunity and said, "Hey Jacob, good thing you are here. I'm trying to get Bella to go prom shopping with me. Maybe you can convince her to go."

"Funny, because I was going to ask Bella if she wanted to be my date to the La Push High School's shindig. It's kind of like prom, I guess," Jacob said looking at Bella with a smile. He saw his girlfriend blush, but then saw that look in her eyes that lets him know she's thinking of her cancer and how much time she might have left. Holding her close he said in a soft voice, "Stop thinking about that. Everything will be okay, you'll see. We'll have the time of our lives that night. And in exchange I'll be your date to prom."

Bella smiled and nodded answering, "Alright."

Angela nodded and said, "I'll go too. I suddenly have a date as well." She looked at Embry and smiled before looking away with another blush on her face.

Jessica cheered and ignored Quil when he said he would be her date to prom if she didn't have one. She began saying where they would meet after school to go prom dress shopping. While she was making plans, Bella and Jacob were in their own little world where it was just the two of them and no one else was around.

* * *

Bella frowned as she looked at herself in the full length mirror. This dress was…ugly. The frilly lace did not at all compliment her like she thought it would when she pulled it from the rack. Also it was orange, which she should have known was a bad combination from the start. Taking it off she grabbed the next dress she had chosen and putting it on. This one was a blush pink halter ballroom dress that hugged the torso nicely, but the embroidered floral design on the bodice just didn't suit her. However she thought it would suit Angela though. Taking it off she put it back on the hanger just as there was a knock on the door of her changing cubicle.

"Yes?" she called out.

"It's me," Angela's voice called.

Bella opened the door slightly, holding the dress in front of her to give herself some decency. Angela stepped in and held up a red dress. Smiling she said, "I think this will be perfect for you, and I'm sure Jacob will think he's died and gone to heaven when he sees you in it."

A giggle escaped Bella's lips as she nodded and took it from her friend, holding out the blush pink dress to her friend, saying, "Alright. And you put this on; it definitely looks like more you than me."

Angela nodded and left to put the dress on. After closing the door and locking it, Bella put the dress on. Her brown eyes widened as she stared at herself in the mirror. The red dress was strapless and hugged her body perfectly. The top of the strapless dress was lined with rhinestones, and there was a large one on a bow on her hip. It flowed all the way down and covered her feet perfectly. The one feature that she thought she wouldn't like but actually did was the slit in the skirt that traveled about mid-thigh. It was simple, but she loved the simplicity of it because it also gave a sense of elegance. It was amazing and she had to admit she loved it. She felt beautiful, more than she ever had in her life.

"Bella!" Angela's voice called out. "I love this dress you gave me. This is definitely the one!"

"That's great," Bella replied as she continued to stare at herself in wonder.

"What about the dress I handed you? Do you like it? Is it the one?"

A smile spread across Bella's lips as she answered, "Yes, this is it. I love it."

She had to admit, she was actually excited about the aspect of prom for once. And she was even more joyful that she was going with Jacob. She couldn't believe she was going to the school dance with the most amazing, sweetest boy she had ever met. Feeling happy she giggled and couldn't help but bounce a little on her toes before deciding to take the dress off so she could purchase it. After putting her clothes back on, she left the changing room and went to meet Angela and Jessica at the checkout counter.

* * *

Later that evening when Renee was hanging things up in Bella's closet, her eyes fell on an unfamiliar dress in protective plastic. Bella was currently at Jacob's house with him so she couldn't ask her about it. Curiosity getting the better of her she pulled it out and held it up to look at it. The red dress was simple but very beautiful. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought this was Bella's prom dress.

When she was done in Bella's room she went back downstairs and saw her ex-husband walk inside the house, just getting home from work. Greeting him she asked, "Charlie, did you buy Bella a new dress?"

Charlie shook his head and said, "No, but Bella did tell me she went prom shopping after school with her friends."

"Prom shopping? Bella went _shopping_? And for _prom_?"

"Yeah, she did. Jake asked her to prom, his and hers."

Renee stood in shock for a moment before letting out an excited high pitched squeal, scaring Charlie and making him hold his hand over his heart, his brown eyes widening as he stared at his ex-wife in shock. Ignoring the man Renee left to go and find her pen and notepad. She had work to do and things to plan to make things perfect for her daughter when prom ultimately arrived.


	13. Chapter 13

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 13

Time was going by and before Bella knew it, it was the week of the La Push High School's prom, or shindig as Jacob called it. She was so nervous to be going at the prospect of probably being the only pale face to be attending the shindig on the Reservation. But then again she was also excited to be going because she would be spending a whole night with Jacob, or as much as her body would allow her to withstand.

At the moment she was out with Renee and Angela shopping for accessories to go with their prom dresses. Renee was helping Bella find the perfect silver accessories to match the rhinestones on her dress, as well as try to find some silver heels to wear. Bella however was adamant about not wearing heels and just finding some nice flats to where as to not fall flat on her face. They had gone back and forth for a while, all the while inadvertently entertaining Angela, until Renee finally relented and let her daughter get a pair of silver flats.

As they were headed to the next jewelry store in Port Angeles Renee suddenly asked, "Honey, how would you feel about a wig?"

Bella frowned and asked, "For what?"

"To wear to the prom, if you want to of course. It's your decision."

"I don't know if I want to. Now that you mention it, I haven't even thought of what I would do with my head."

"Well you can't wear one of your beanies; it won't match your dress."

Angela looked up in thought for a moment before suggesting, "What about some sort of headband."

Renee squealed at the thought and agreed, Angela and her instantly talking about what kind of headband Bella should wear. Bella just followed behind them, shaking her head at the way her mother and friend were bonding. Before long they entered a jewelry store and began browsing. Before long Bella found a beautiful silver diamond necklace with matching earrings and a bracelet. Angela also found some silver jewelry for her blush pink dress, and Renee paid for both of them insisting that she do so. Once she paid for their accessories, they went on to find hair accessories for Angela and a headband for Bella. After another hour of shopping, Angela picked out some hair jewels for herself and Bella found a really pretty silver headband with sparkles and a flower on it so that when it was put on her head, the flower would be at an angle. When they paid for those things, they loaded them up in the car that Renee had bought and headed back to Forks.

* * *

Once they dropped Angela back off at her house, Renee and Bella decided to head out to eat to spend some more quality mother-daughter time together. They stopped to eat the same diner that Jacob had taken her to and, oddly enough, were served by the same waitress that had tried to flirt with her boyfriend. As soon as the waitress recognized Bella she flushed and glared at her before stalking away. Noticing it Renee asked her daughter, "What was that all about?"

Bella took a sip of her water and answered, "Jacob brought me here for lunch one day before we started dating and she was flirting with him. I got annoyed and called her out on it, threatening to report her to her manager for not doing her job and flirting with an underage boy."

"Sounds like you were jealous," Renee replied with a giggle.

"I wasn't jealous, just annoyed."

"Annoyed, jealous, same thing honey. The point is that you didn't like seeing her flirt with your boyfriend and you basically put her in her place."

"Jake wasn't my boyfriend at the time, though."

"Doesn't matter, you two were already on your way to being a couple."

Bella shook her head with a smile and continued talking to her mother until their food came out. They began eating and kept up the chatter, Bella realizing that she hadn't had such a good time with her mother in a long time. As they were wrapping up lunch, Bella asked Renee a surprising question.

"So are you and dad getting back together any time soon?"

Renee chocked a little on her food in surprise and coughed a few times to make sure nothing went down the wrong pipe. She took a sip of her tea and got her bearings before asking, "What made you ask that?"

The teenager shrugged and said, "Well, you're divorce with Phil was finalized just over a month ago and you and dad seem to be reconnecting and getting close again. I've taken notice of it and I was just wondering if you two were thinking about it."

"Bella, I love your father but I'm not in love with him. I believe Charlie and I will always hold a special love for each other, but it's just not what it was back when we were younger."

"But do you think there is a chance?"

"Maybe, I mean who knows what the future and fate has in store for us. But as of right now, it won't happen. But you and Jacob on the other hand, you two belong together. I'm positive you two were made for each other; you're soul mates, I can feel it in my bones."

Soul mates. That was something Bella had never thought of concerning her relationship with Jacob. But the thought of it made her blush, though. Renee made it sound like they were just supposed to happen, to be together and in love and have a happily ever after. However Bella was being realistic about it all. She knew her cancer would probably tear her away from Jacob one day, but she and Jacob and everyone supporting her were holding onto faith that something would work out in her favor and she would be cured of her stomach cancer. Jacob had also promised to be there every step of the way with her, no matter how bad things got.

Jacob was such a kind soul, he was practically an angel from above. And of all the girls he could have been with, he had chosen her. Bella knew she wasn't the most attractive female in their age bracket and there were some better than her in personality or just in general, but Jacob just wanted her. He just wanted her and was willing to stay with her through thick and thin. Not many guys would do that for just one girl, especially one in her position. They would leave the first chance they got or would stay for a while, but then leave because they weren't able to deal with it all. But Jacob was different, he was perfect. He made Bella's beating heart make more beats than normal, made butterflies erupt in her stomach, made her feel all warm inside. She wanted nothing more than to just continually be in his presence when he was around. Her dreams were filled with the younger boy. And at the end of the day, Bella firmly believed that she needed no one else but Jacob.

Thinking of her boyfriend that way made tears well up in her eyes, a few of them spilling over onto her cheeks. Renee noticed and asked in concern, "Honey, what's wrong?"

Wiping her tears away Bella answered, "Nothing, just thinking about Jacob and how happy he makes me."

Renee stared at her daughter for a moment before smiling softly and asking, "You want to know what I think, Bella?"

"What?"

"I think you may be in love with Jacob."

In love? In love with Jacob? Was that right? Bella almost didn't believe it, but if she thought about it and how great her feelings for her boyfriend were, then perhaps her mother was right. Maybe she was in love with Jacob. The thought made a smile come to her face and made her laugh softly. It had to be true, but then it made her wonder: was Jacob in love with her as well?

Before she could ponder it more, Renee told her they had to go so they wouldn't be late for Bella's appointment at the hospital. Nodding Bella finished eating and taking a sip of her water before standing with Renee to leave, the waitress having already come around so Renee could pay for their meal. As they left the diner and piled into the car, Bella hoped that the appointment wouldn't take long. Carlisle had informed her that they were going to run a few tests, but the results wouldn't be back until a few days later. That was fine with her, because at the moment all she wanted to focus on was the shindig and the night she would spend with Jacob.

* * *

The night of the shindig had finally arrived and Bella stood in her room looking in the mirror at herself. She was dressed in the strapless red rhinestone dress, her silver jewelry on, as well as the silver headband on her bald head and silver flats on her feet. Renee had done her makeup and looking at the finished result, Bella had to admit that she thought she looked pretty for once.

Angela had just walked inside her room from the bathroom where she had been doing her makeup and gasped as she saw her friend. In awe she said, "Bella, you look beautiful!"

Bella blushed and asked, "You really think so?"

"Yes, and Jacob will think so too."

"Thanks, and Embry will probably think he's gone to heaven when he sees you."

Angela blushed at her friend's words as she went to join her to look in the mirror. Angela had on the blush pink halter dress and had curled her hair, letting it flow down freely while using bobby pins to pin her hair on the sides of her face. She had also taken her hair jewels and stuck them along there, as well as put on her jewelry. Unlike Bella though, she wore heels on her feet. All in all, the girls looked great and were delighted they would be getting to wear their prom dresses again next week for the Forks High School prom.

"Bella! Angela! You're dates are here!" Renee's voice called up the stairs.

"Coming!" Angela responded before grabbing her pink clutch and telling Bella she'd see her downstairs.

As she left the room and headed down to meet Embry, Bella looked at herself once more in the mirror before taking a deep breath and letting it out. She was nervous as to what Jacob would think of her, but she also knew that she would be alright and Jacob would think she was beautiful. With this in mind she also grabbed her clutch and left her room, slowly descending the stairs.

* * *

Charlie shook his head in amusement as he watched his ex-wife coo at Angela and Embry and snap pictures of them with her camera, telling them they looked so cute together and that she loved how Embry's tie and boutonniere matched Angela's dress and corsage. She had already gotten pictures of Jacob by himself, as well as Embry and the boys together. He had chuckled when Jacob was finally able to not be the center of Renee's attention when Angela came down.

His chocolate eyes turned to see Jacob waiting patiently in his tuxedo, his bowtie red to match Bella's dress. In his hands he held the rose corsage that he was to put on Bella's wrist; Charlie was holding the boutonniere that Bella would pin to Jacob's jacket. Speaking of Bella, he wondered when she would come downstairs.

The sound of descending footsteps reached their ears and everyone turned towards the stairs. Seconds later Bella came into view while coming down the stairs, a nervous smile on her face. Renee gasped and began instantly taking pictures of her daughter while Angela grinned and Embry smiled. Jacob's eyes had widened as he took in his girlfriend's appearance. Bella was beautiful! Sure she was already beautiful to him, but she definitely cleaned up and she sure looked sexy to him.

When Bella reached the landing he walked over to her kissed her cheek, saying softly, "You look gorgeous, honey."

Blushing Bella replied, "Thanks, Jake."

Jacob grinned and took the corsage out of the box, passing the box to Embry and put it on Bella's wrist. Once it was in place Bella took the boutonniere from Charlie and pinned it to Jacob's tuxedo jacket, all the while Renee snapping pictures of the exchange. Once that was done Renee took pictures of the couple together, a few of Bella by herself, with Angela, and then all four of them together.

After a few more pictures Embry said, "Alright, it's time to get going so we don't be late."

"Yeah, let's go," Jacob replied holding Bella's hand.

Embry nodded and turned to Angela asking, "Ready to be my hot date and be the hottest couple at the shindig?"

Angela blushed and nodded as Embry took her hand and led her out of the house towards Jacob's Rabbit. Jacob and Bella were about to leave when Bella told Jacob she would be out in a minute. As soon as Jacob was gone, Bella turned to her father who hadn't said anything the moment she came down the stairs.

Looking up at him nervously she asked softly, "Do I look pretty, daddy?"

Charlie's eyes filled with tears at hearing his daughter call him 'daddy' again as she asked him if he thought she looked pretty. He knew Bella was still dealing with insecurities, one of them being whether or not she amounted up to other girls in the looks department. But to Charlie, Bella has always been perfect in his eyes. Even now all dolled up, she was perfect; she was his little angel.

Sniffling a little he nodded and replied in a husky voice, "You're beautiful, kiddo."

Bella grinned brightly up at her father and hugged him tightly around his middle. Charlie wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he returned her hug, his cheek resting against her head. The moment between them was special as it was private. Yes, Renee was also there, but this was their moment before Bella left to have fun with Jacob. Renee, feeling choked up as well, took a few pictures of them before announcing that Jacob was waiting.

Pulling away Bella looked up at her father and stood on her toes to give him a kiss on his cheek. She then took her clutch from her mother and told them both that she would see them later before leaving the house to join Jacob, Angela, and Embry. The four of them piled into the car and Jacob drove off towards La Push.

* * *

As soon as they were gone Renee turned to Charlie and said, "I don't think I've ever seen you cry since the time Bella was born."

Charlie wiped the tears that were threatening to fall before smiling and saying, "I couldn't help it."

The auburn haired woman smiled before moving to show her ex-husband the pictures she had taken on her camera. Right when she was about to show them, the house phone rang. Charlie moved to the kitchen to answer it, picking it up and answering, "Hello?"

 _"_ _Chief Swan, this is Carlisle Cullen."_

"Dr. Cullen, how can I help you?"

 _"_ _Is it possible if you and your wife could come to the hospital? It's about what we found from Bella's tests."_

Charlie shot Renee a worried look, causing the woman to return it. Swallowing Charlie nodded and replied, "Yes, we can come."

Charlie spoke to Carlisle for a moment more before hanging up the phone. As soon as he did Renee asked, "What is it?"

"Dr. Cullen wants us to come in so he can discuss something with us. It's about Bella's test results."


	14. Chapter 14

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 14

Bella's nerves were building the closer they got to La Push High School. As soon as they had crossed the border into La Push, her leg had been shaking. She was about to go to Jacob's prom, with Jacob and be surrounded by people she didn't even know! It wasn't everyday that someone on the Reservation took interest in a pale face, let alone date one. But then again, Jacob never seemed like one to follow unspoken rules anyway. Even so she couldn't help but be extremely nervous, and before long Jacob had pulled into the parking lot of the high school.

There were already many cars parked there, and many students walking inside the school with their dates and friends. Bella's brown eyes stared at them as her anxiety began to build. A warm hand took hold of hers and she turned to look at Jacob who was giving her a warm, reassuring smile. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze he said, "Everything is going to be alright."

"Okay," Bella replied softly as Jacob kissed the knuckles of her hand.

The four of them piled out of the car before Jacob locked it, Embry wrapping his arm around Angela's waist as they headed towards the school. Bella held tightly to her clutch in one hand while Jacob held onto her other hand. As they walked towards the building Bella could see and feel the stares on her, causing her to almost shrink into Jacob. But she then remembered that she had Jacob by her side and that she was stronger than she thought she was, so she held her head high as she and her date headed towards the La Push High School gymnasium.

Walking into the gymnasium Bella was pleased at how simple everything was while still giving off the message that it was prom. Streamers were all along the walls, about four different refreshment tables, and a disco ball hung from the ceiling. There was music playing from the speakers courtesy of the DJ, but there was also a live band setting up to get ready to play as well. The lights were shining in an array of different colors, from blue to green to pink, to yellow and every other color that was available. This was actually the ideal prom Bella would have thought of, considering Forks was going for some kind of theme that was, as Jessica had put it, fairytales meet the future. She could only imagine how horrendous that would look when she and Jacob went to it next week.

"Hey Jake, Bella!" a voice called getting the couple's attention.

Turning the two of them saw Quil making his way through the crowd towards them, with Jessica Stanley on his arm surprisingly. Smiling Jacob said, "Hey Quil. I see you convinced Jessica to come here with you."

Quil rolled his eyes and replied, "What are you talking about? It didn't take any sort of convincing; she was just playing hard to get."

Jessica and Bella shook their heads with smiles on their face before Jessica moved to hug Bella. Pulling away with a smile she said, "I'm glad that you came. And don't worry about anyone staring at you. They're just jealous because you've got one of the hottest guys here on your arm."

"Thanks Jess," Bella couldn't help but reply with a chuckle. One thing about Jessica, she would always find a way to make her smile one way or another.

Jacob cleared his throat and said, "Well I hate to leave you all, but I want to take Bella out for a spin on the dance floor."

"What?" Bella said with wide brown eyes.

"Sure thing, Jake. We'll see you guys later," Quil said before allowing Jessica to tug him over to one of the refreshment tables.

As she was pulled onto the dance floor Bella protested, "Wait Jake, I can't dance. I have two left feet. I don't want to."

The younger boy turned around and took Bella's hands in his before bending down and saying, "Don't worry about anyone watching, Bells. I'm right here and if you fall I'll catch you, I promise."

Bella looked into his sincere brown eyes before nodding, causing Jacob to grin. He began a steady side to side step in time with the pop music playing, lightly guiding his date. He chuckled as Bella couldn't help but look at her feet and gave her a kiss on top of her head just on the headband she was wearing on her bald head. Bella looked up at him and gave him a smile and dancing in, surprisingly, time with Jacob. Jacob grinned wider as Bella allowed herself to be completely immersed in the music and was actually keeping with the beat and not stumbling at all. Pulling Bella closer to him he wrapped his muscular arms around her and held her close and they continued to step in time with the music. He heard Bella sigh softly and rest her head against his chest, but he also noticed the many people looking at him, some even whispering about how 'Jacob Black was with a bald pale face girl'.

Just when he was about to tell them they could all fuck off, a loud voice he recognized to belong to Leah said, "Quit staring, you douche bags. Mind your own business before I make you."

The people that had been staring at them whipped their heads around to see Leah Clearwater glaring at all of them, causing them to quickly move away from her and the couple to some other part of the gym. They all knew who she was and the kind of temper she had on her and how abrasive she could be. It made them wonder how in the world Sam Uley was able to date someone like her.

Smiling Jacob said, "Thanks, Leah."

"No problem," she replied as Sam walked up to stand next to her. Neither of them were dressed for the shindig, but both wore blue jeans, black shoes, and grey t-shirts.

Bella looked at the couple and said, "Hi guys. What are you doing here?"

Sam grunted a bit and said, "Chaperoning."

"Unpaid, might I add," Leah put in.

Jacob and Bella couldn't help but laugh at the way Leah had said those words. The four of them conversed for a while before Sam and Leah left them alone on the dance floor. With their attention back on each other they continued to dance, the both of lost in each other's world.

* * *

As the night drug on Bella realized that she was having a great time. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face, and it only widened every time she looked at her boyfriend. Jacob had promised tonight would be memorable and so far it had been. He had taken several turns dancing with her and they had even had some food from the refreshment table, which was delicious and was hoping she could get the recipes from someone. She was positive that nothing could ruin it for her, even if it tried.

Jacob looked down at Bella who had her head resting on his shoulder and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Mhm, just a little tired," Bella said. Looking up at him she reassured, "But not enough to go to sleep though."

"Must be from all the fun," Jacob replied with a grin.

Bella nodded and giggled when Jacob planted a kiss on her lips. The two of them looked around at the couples that were slow dancing on the floor as the live band performed a ballad and the lead singer sang. Bella looked at them and spotted Jessica and Quil dancing, both of them looking content and happy in each others' arms. She hoped her friend would give the boy a real chance and not treat him the way she did Mike. Who knows, she might actually find herself really happy.

Jacob looked around for a moment before saying softly, "Let's get out of here. I want to take you somewhere."

"Where?" Bella asked.

"You'll see."

Taking her smaller hand in his Jacob led her towards the exit of the gymnasium, leaving the shindig behind. As they walked down the hall headed for the exit the door to a supply closet opened and Embry and Angela stepped out. The two of them stared wide eyed at having been caught by their friends, a furious blush appearing on Angela's face. Bella, not being able to contain her shock, exclaimed, "Angela!"

Angela shook her head and protested, "It's not what you think, Bella! I swear, we didn't!"

Embry nodded and said, "We really didn't. I just wanted to talk to Angie about something and we kept getting interrupted, so I drug her in there so we could."

"And?" Jacob asked, an amused look on his face.

Embry looked at Angela before taking her hand and interlocking their fingers. He looked back at the couple and said, "And now we're dating."

Bella clapped in delight and hugged Angela, congratulating her as Jacob fist bumped Embry. Pulling away she said, "That's great, you two. But your lips look a little swollen, Angela. Have you two been making out?"

"Hush up, Bella," Angela replied while blushing even more, causing Embry, Bella, and Jacob to laugh.

Jacob told them that he and Bella were leaving and asked if it would be alright to leave them there. Embry told him it was fine and would just call his mom to pick them up when they were ready to leave. After bidding each other 'goodnight', Jacob and Bella left La Push High School and got back into Jacob's Rabbit. Driving in the dark through the Reservation, Jacob and Bella held hands while keeping a flowing conversation between them. After a while Bella asked, "So where is it that you're taking me?"

"We're almost there, just sit tight," Jacob answered.

Bella couldn't help but give her boyfriend a suspicious look. Where was he taking her that was so secretive? But she nodded and just decided to see where they were going. About five minutes of driving later, Jacob pulled up in front of a little wood cabin that was about a mile walk from First Beach. Bella frowned as she's never seen this house before considering how close it was to the beach. Following Jacob's lead she got out of the car, her clutch in her hand.

"Jake, where are we?" Bella asked, wrapping her arms around herself. It was chilly and she was wearing a strapless dress. She probably should have considered grabbing a sweater of some sort before leaving the house.

Jacob noticed his girlfriend's shivering and took his tuxedo and wrapping it around her shoulders. Once he did that he led her over to the cabin's front door. He turned the knob and pushed the door open before leading Bella inside. He quickly moved over to where the fireplace was and took a minute to light a fire, soon illuminating the cabin with a warm glow. Bella looked around and noticed that it was almost completely bare. There wasn't much furniture, but there was a hallway that probably led to a bathroom and bedroom or two. She spotted the kitchen and smiled as she could imagine what it would look like with a fresh coat of paint, redone counters, and a new stove and refrigerator.

Turning back to face the living room area where Jacob was, she noticed him settled on top of a spread out blanket. He patted the space next to him and she sunk down to sit beside him, leaning into him. Breathing in she said, "This cabin was probably really cute before; it definitely has a homey feel to it. But what are we doing here."

The Quileute boy didn't answer for a moment, but then he said, "This was my grandparents' house on my mother's side of the family. No one has stayed in it since they passed away. I always come here whenever I want some peace away from everyone else. But recently I've been coming here so I can see what renovations I can make in the future when I get a chance so it will be livable again."

"Renovations?"

"Well, I was hoping that once it was finished, if you wanted to, you would move in with me when we're old enough to."

Bella gasped and looked up at her boyfriend in surprise. Blinking she asked, "Really?"

Nodding Jacob said, "I want to have a future with you, Bella. I want to be able to give you everything that you've ever wanted, as long as I'm able to. I…I love you, Bella."

He loved her. Jacob _loved_ her. Bella didn't notice the tears filling her eyes until they spilled over. She almost couldn't believe that Jacob loved her, but she knew in her heart that it was true. And what was even truer was that she loved him in return. Wrapping her arms around his neck she hugged him close as she replied, "Oh Jake, I love you too; I really do."

Jacob grinned before pulling away slightly and cupping her face in his hands, leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers in a sweet, love filled kiss. Bella sighed into the kiss and returned it, their lips moving against the others'. Before long their kisses turned heated and lust soon filled their bodies. They were holding and grabbing onto each other as much as they could, trying to pull the other closer to them. Bella moved so that she was straddling Jacob and Jacob held her by her waist, neither of them willing to let go of each other's lips. It wasn't until Jacob felt Bella's hands begin to unbutton his shirt did he stop.

Grabbing her wrists gently Jacob said, "Wait a minute, Bella. Are you sure about this? We don't have to rush it."

Bella panted a little before nodding and saying, "Yes, I'm sure Jake. I love you and I want you. I know I won't regret anything and…and I want you to be my first time, if you'll have me."

Jacob reached around to the zipper of Bella's dress and took hold of the zipper before looking back up into her chocolate eyes. When she gave him a reassuring nod, he began to pull the zipper down as he once again devoured her mouth, delighting in the soft moans that were escaping her pink lips. Before long clothes were taken off of each other as hands glided along bare skin. Moans, groans, and cries of pleasure left their lips as they moved together and against each other, both of them trying to find that moment of release and total bliss. Jacob's lips grazed Bella's neck as he planted kisses along the column, his name a whisper on her lips and her nails lightly raked along his muscular back. And minutes later, as the movements became faster and more frantic, they both groaned as they came down from their high together, their arms wrapped around each other as they shared kisses and words filled with love. It wasn't long after that did they fall asleep in front of the fireplace, the fire slowly burning out as the night went on.

* * *

A cell phone continued to buzz inside of the carrying clutch as the two teenagers slept peacefully, the name blinking on the screen alternating between 'Renee' and 'Charlie'.


	15. Chapter 15

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 15

Jacob sighed softly as he sat up, stretching a bit before smiling brightly as the events of the previous night came to mind. He went to his high school shindig with his girlfriend, the love of his life, confessed to her his love with reciprocated feelings, and they made love. Even though where they had shared their love physically wasn't particularly ideal, it was perfect to him. And what more was that he would be able to repeat the night again in a week at Bella's own senior prom.

Speaking of Bella he looked down next to him to see her still sleeping peacefully. He smiled softly and bent down to give her a kiss on her temple before reaching for his dress pants. Fishing in them for a moment he pulled out his phone, checking the time. Seeing that it was nearing nine-thirty he knew he had to hurry and get Bella back home before Charlie killed him for having her out all night without so much as a call. Actually, the police chief might just kill him for that just because. He really didn't want to disturb his sleeping girlfriend but he knew he had to get her home soon.

Leaning over her he bent down near her ear and whispered, "Bella, it's time to wake up now."

Bella moaned and even more so when Jacob began to nibble on her ear. Turning her head she blearily looked up at him, a smile stretching across her lips. Opening her arms she welcomed his large body into her arms in a warm embraced and softly said, "Good morning."

"It is indeed," Jacob said with a smile. He helped her to sit up and they exchanged a few sweet kisses before he said, "We need to get dressed and get you back home. Charlie is sure to kill me for having you out all night."

"I wonder what he'd do if he found out you took my virginity," Bella giggled, laughing more when his eyes widened and his smile slipped from his face.

Jacob recovered as Bella stood up to search for her undergarments before saying, "Well for the record, you took mine as well."

A pink blush appeared on Bella's cheeks as she stepped into her underwear, causing Jacob to laugh as he too stood up to begin getting dressed. Once they were dressed and looked presentable they stepped out of the little run down cabin and headed towards Jacob's Rabbit. Right when they reached it Bella let out a pain filled groan and grabbed her stomach. Jacob looked at her in concern and asked, "Are you okay?"

Nodding she answered, "Yes, I'm okay. I'm probably just hungry."

However another very sharp pain ran through her stomach, causing Bella to let out a painful cry and double over, leaning against the car for support. Her boyfriend shouted her name and ran towards her from his side of the car, wrapping his arms around her. Jacob's eyes widened as he saw the tears forming in Bella's eyes and spilling over as her stomach pain became worse and worse. He was about to ask her what he needed to do; if he needed to take her home or should they go to the hospital. She tried to talk but before she could say anything she began to cough, the sound becoming rougher until it sounded wet. Right after that Bella retched and threw up on herself. But what really scared Jacob was the fact that she was throwing up blood. Fearing the worst Jacob quickly put his girlfriend in his car and got in himself, cranking it and speeding out of La Push.

He pushed his car to its limit and beyond it trying to get Bella to the hospital as she threw up blood once again. He ran stop signs and lights trying to get to Forks Hospital, catching the eye of the police. A police car chased him all the way to the hospital, only for it to be Charlie when he finally reached the building and got out of the car. Charlie would have scolded Jacob, but when he saw the state his daughter was in all thoughts of reprimanding Jacob flew out the window. He ran with Jacob inside as the boy carried Bella, yelling for help and demanding Dr. Cullen at once. Doctors and nurses quickly took Bella from Jacob and rushed her away from them, leaving her father and boyfriend in the waiting room in worry.

* * *

Renee burst into the waiting room and called out, "Charlie?!"

"Renee," Charlie said, waving her over.

Renee rushed over to him and sat next to him, her face full of worry as she asked, "What happened? What happened to Bella?"

Charlie looked over towards Jacob who was sitting in the chair closest to the doors leading to the ER, the boy's eyes locked on the double doors. Turning back to his ex-wife he said, "Jacob told me he was going to bring her back home, but she suddenly started having really bad stomach pains, and then she started throwing up blood." He swallowed a bit and continued, "Dr. Cullen came out about ten minutes ago and told me that they were able to get Bella to stop throwing up blood and are currently looking at her tumor to see what went wrong between last night and now."

"Charlie, what if…what if it has to do with what Dr. Cullen told us last night? You know what her tests said."

The man nodded his head solemnly, remembering exactly what the kind doctor had said. Bella's stomach tumor had grown significantly and the chemotherapy wasn't working anymore. The only thing that could be done was surgery to remove it, and even that was risky in itself as it sat right over top of a blood vessel in her stomach lining. So from what they gathered from the talk, Bella could die either from the cancer without the surgery, or die on the operating table as a result of removing her stomach tumor. They couldn't even imagine at the moment what to do or decide. They didn't want to lose their only child.

A sniffle caught his attention and he looked to see Renee's eyes were filling with tears, a few of them slipping out as she placed her hand over her mouth. He knew his former wife was about to break down over the grave situation, but was trying her best to hold it in. Feeling a lump rise in his own throat he gently placed a hand on Renee's shoulder and said in a raspy voice, "Ree."

Renee looked her ex-husband in his chocolate brown eyes, the eyes so much like their daughter's, and finally burst into sobs. Charlie held her close as she cried heavily into his neck, a tear rolling down his own cheek as he burdened some of the pain Renee was letting loose. Leaning his head against hers as he held her he spoke to her softly, trying to assure her that everything was going to be alright. And as he did that, Jacob watched them from where he sat silently, his own tears filling his eyes before looking back towards the double doors. _God,_ Jacob prayed, _Please, please let Bella be alright._

* * *

Angela hummed happily to herself as she walked around with Jessica in the store, halfway listening to her friend babble on about the amazing time she had with Quil the night before. Jessica was seeing Quil as boyfriend material, which was fine she guessed. Honestly she couldn't believe still that she was now dating Embry Call. Sure he was two years younger, but she didn't have a problem with that. And seeing how Bella was dating Jacob who too was two years younger, it didn't make her feel bad.

Speaking of Bella she wondered how her night went after she and Jacob left the shindig. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone to call her friend when Jessica suddenly said, "Incoming boy drama in three, two…"

Before she could ask what she meant a smooth voice said, "Good morning Jessica, Angela."

Looking up into the face of Edward Cullen she gave a polite smile and replied, "Hello Edward."

Edward nodded and said, "You two seem well this morning."

"Oh yeah, we're still reeling from all the fun we had last night with our boyfriends," Jessica said.

Angela rolled her eyes and retorted, "Quil isn't your boyfriend yet."

Before Jessica could reply to that statement Edward asked them had they seen Bella. Angela told him not since she and Jacob left the La Push prom the night before but she was about to call her. As she stepped away and called Bella's phone, she heard Jessica ask Edward why he can't just let Bella go since it was apparent that the girl didn't want him anymore. It wasn't long before the line was answered, but instead of hearing Bella's voice she heard a deep one answer instead.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ the voice said.

Realizing it was Jacob she greeted, "Hi Jacob, it's Angela. How are you?"

 _"_ _Not so good right now."_

"Why? What happened? What's wrong?"

There was a moment of silence before Jacob answered, _"It's Bella. She…she's in the hospital. She had a bad episode this morning and threw up blood. I'm already here with her parents and my dad is on his way as well. Do you…do you mind coming as well?"_

Angela didn't even think twice and agreed, telling him she would be there as quick as she could. Hanging up she looked at Jessica in panic and said, "We have to get to the hospital now."

Jessica gave an alarmed look and asked, "What is it?"

"It's Bella. It sounds like she took a turn for the worst."

The two girls quickly ran out of the store and to Jessica's car, hurrying to the hospital for their friend. However they forgot that Edward had been there and had heard the news that Bella was in the hospital, neither of them seeing his silver Volvo following them just as quick to Forks Hospital.


	16. Chapter 16

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 16

"We have her stable and in a room now if you wish to go and see her. She is currently unconscious but should wake up soon. Just allow me to go and check her vitals once more, and then I will come back to take you to see your daughter," Carlisle said to the worried parents. Even though Bella was not with his own son anymore he still very much cared for her and honestly, seeing her in this position hurt him greatly. However he had to remain professional and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his work.

When Dr. Cullen walked away Renee let out the breath she had been holding and hugged Charlie close, her head resting on his shoulder. Charlie too was relieved to hear the news that Bella was alright for the time being as he returned the hug his ex-wife gave him. He glanced over at Jacob who had a small smile on his face, though he could still see the worry etched in his features. Even Billy still seemed worried and was rubbing his son's shoulder comfortingly. Billy had had the foresight to bring a change of clothes for his son, seeing as he somehow knew Jacob wasn't planning on leaving the hospital any time soon, so Jacob was no longer in his tuxedo and was now dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes.

Jacob had heard what Dr. Cullen had said and he was so happy that Bella was stable, but he was still worried and scared for Bella. Charlie had told him and his dad about chemotherapy no longer working for Bella and that her tumor would have to be removed for a chance to be healed. It didn't seem so bad until it was revealed the tumor was over a blood vessel, meaning Bella could bleed out and die if it was removed. However Jacob refused to believe that would happen. Bella would make it through; she would hold on, he just knew it.

Reaching into the neck of his shirt he pulled out the locket that Bella had given him for a Christmas present, the night that she had confessed her feelings to him. He rubbed his thumb over the _My Jake_ inscription before opening it, looking at the picture of them inside. Both of them were smiling brightly in the photo, neither of them seeming to have a care in the world. His eyes drifted to the other inscription inside of the locket, _My best friend and more._ They were such simple words but they carried so much weight, because it was purely Bella. Bella wasn't one for a lot of words and was a simple person, but her actions alone helped make up for what she couldn't say. And even now Jacob could feel the weight of her words now as he stared at the locket. He was her best friend, and so much more than that. He loved her more than anything in the world, and he didn't know what he would do if she left him alone in this world.

Before he could ponder more the door to the waiting room opened and Angela and Jessica rushed inside, right over to Charlie. Catching her breath a bit Angela asked, "Chief Swan, is Bella alright? What happened?"

"Bella's okay, Angela," Charlie replied. "She's stable now and we're waiting to go and see her."

"Yes, but what happened?" Jessica asked.

Renee looked up at Charlie before saying, "Her cancer is getting worse. She coughed and threw up blood this morning and Dr. Cullen though it best to officially hospitalize her now."

"Cancer? Bella's sick? Since when?" a voice suddenly asked from behind them. Turning they all looked to see Edward Cullen standing shocked behind them, It was apparent this news of Bella being sick was new to him. "Since when has Bella had cancer?"

Charlie glared at the boy and didn't hold back the malice in his voice as he answered, "Bella has had cancer since before she moved to Forks. She just didn't let it be known to everyone. And I'm not surprised that you were the only one who didn't know it, but you have your pompous head so far up your own ass that I'm surprised you're even here. Why are you here anyway?" Yes, Charlie didn't like Edward (especially after he cheated on his little girl twice) and wasn't afraid to let it be known.

Edward glared at the man before saying, "I just wish to see Bella."

"No!" Charlie practically barked, causing Renee to have to calm him down.

"Why? I love Bella, and I know she still loves me. She will want to see me."

Angela let out a slightly exasperated sigh and turned to the boy before saying, "Edward, please understand that Bella does not like you anymore. She's in love yes, but not with you. She loves Jacob and she doesn't need you here causing a scene."

"I'm not causing a scene."

"Not yet, but you surely will soon," Jessica put in.

"Edward, please leave. Maybe later Bella will want to talk to you, but if you're just here to try and talk her into taking you back while she's lying in a hospital bed sick instead of here to support her, then you're not welcome here. It doesn't matter that your father works here, we won't allow you to see Bella," Angela said, her expression hardened, something no one who knew her has ever seen before.

Edward looked more than a little put out before saying, "You're view of me has been put into a bad light, just like Bella's has. It's that new boy toy of hers that did it, isn't it?" He turned his attention towards where Jacob was sitting with his father and stalked over to him before saying, "You're the one who turned Bella against me. It's your fault."

Jacob looked Edward straight in his eye and said in a low voice, "Don't start with me in here unless you want to end up in the wall. Get away from me."

"What are you going to do? Absolutely nothing, Black. You can't touch me and Bella will be mine again. After all, why would she want someone like you when she has someone like me waiting to take her back the moment you slip up."

Jacob wasn't going to retaliate, but the moment Edward's hand knocked his head to the side, his body moved automatically. He shot up from his seat and grabbed Edward by his neck, shoving him into the nearest wall and held him above the ground. There were several alarmed shouts and he felt the hands of Charlie, his father, and a few other doctors on him trying to tug him away but he wouldn't budge. Getting in Edward's face he yelled, "I don't give a damn what you say or think, but this is not the time or place for your petty jealousy! Bella is dying, do you hear me?! And for your information she loves me and hasn't once spoken your sorry name since we've been dating; if so it was in disdain. And after you grabbed her the way you did that time when I visited her at lunch, I thought I let it be clear then that I wasn't afraid of any threat you threw at me. Now get this through your thick skull before I knock it in there: Bella does not want you and never will! And if you're not going to be here to support her in her time of need, then get the fuck out before I throw you out!"

With each word Jacob's grip on his neck had tightened, closing off the air in Edward's throat and causing his face to turn red as he tried to breathe. When Edward's clawing hands on his hand began to slowly stop, he released him and let him drop to the ground, gasping for air. Jacob turned to sit back down when he saw Dr. Cullen standing not far, having witnessed the whole thing. Dr. Cullen looked at him before saying, "Chief Swan, Renee, everyone else, please follow me to Bella's room. Edward, go wait in my office _now._ "

* * *

Bella blurrily opened her eyes, blinking sluggishly as she stared at the white ceiling. Her brows furrowed a bit as she tried to remember where she was. Feeling cool, funny tasting air going in her mouth as she breathed, she realized that she had an oxygen mask on and was in the hospital. She briefly remembered throwing up blood before she looked to her right to see the door to the hospital room open and her parents, Jacob, Billy, Angela, and Jessica walk in. As soon as Jacob saw she was awake he hurried to her side, grabbing her hand and holding it tight.

"Oh honey, you're awake," Jacob said before kissing her hand. "How are you feeling?"

She didn't say anything in response to that, but she did squeeze his hand to let him know that she was alright. Jacob smiled and said, "Good."

Renee moved to Bella's other side and bent down to give her a hug saying, "Oh baby, you had us so worried."

"M…fnnn," Bella managed to get out in the oxygen mask.

"You will be fine soon, honey. But right now just rest, alright? We'll be here when you wake up again."

Bella looked at her mother before her eyes drifted to her father, then her friends, Billy, and finally on Jacob. She looked into his brown eyes and smiled before whispering, "Love…you."

Jacob smiled and whispered back, "I love you too. Just rest now." He then kissed her forehead as her eyes drifted shut to fall asleep once more.

* * *

When it was apparent Bella wouldn't wake up any time soon, Angela asked, "Chief Swan, Mrs. Swan, what do you plan on doing now for Bella?"

Renee blinked momentarily at being called 'Mrs. Swan' again after so many years before answering, "We're still discussing it, but we're starting to lean towards surgery to remove her tumor."

Charlie nodded and said, "We know it's a big risk considering where it's situated in her stomach lining, but if chemo isn't working anymore, we need to go with the next best option."

"We're still praying too that everything will be alright in the end. And if God decides to call Bella back to him, then we will accept it. But right now, we're praying that He can make a way for her."

Angela nodded as she looked back at her friend. She couldn't help but think of her little sister that had been taken by cancer and she didn't want her friend to go out the same way. She had told her parents about Bella and they had also been praying with her as well that her friend would recover.

Jessica stood quietly for a moment before asking, "This may sound stupid, but can't you just request a stomach transplant?"

Billy gave the girl a confused look before saying, "There is no such thing. The stomach is an organ that is considered unneeded to survive, therefore it's not on a list of organs that can be transplanted like kidneys, livers, and lungs."

"Billy's right," Carlisle's voice said coming from the doorway. As he stepped in he said, "We cannot transplant a new stomach for Bella, but my team and I will work tirelessly for Bella should her parents want to put her on the list for surgery."

"How soon could you get her ready for it?" Renee asked.

"This Saturday coming."

"That's right after the Forks High School prom," Jessica said.

Carlisle nodded and said, "Yes, I'm aware. It's a shame Bella can't attend, but her health comes first."

Charlie and Renee looked at each other sharing a silent conversation before Charlie said, "Sign her up for that day, and as soon as possible please."

Carlisle nodded and checked Bella once more before leaving. As soon as he left Jessica, who seemed to have been in deep thought, gasped and exclaimed, "I have an idea!"

Angela frowned and asked, "What is it?"

"You'll see!" Grabbing the bag nearby that held Bella's prom dress that the doctor's had taken off of her she said, "Angela, Jacob, come with me! We have some planning to do!"

The three teenagers left the room, leaving the remaining three adults looking after them in bewilderment and confusion, all of them wondering what the girl had suddenly thought up. And all the while Bella slept peacefully in her hospital bed, her slightly medicated induced sleep full of dreams of her and Jacob dancing on a cloud, the hair she no longer had flowing around her as Jacob swept her around with loving smiles on both of their faces.


	17. Chapter 17

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 17

Carlisle walked inside his office and closed the door, taking a deep calming breath before turning to face his son. Edward was sitting in one of the two chairs that were in front of his desk with a scowl on his face while holding an ice pack to his neck. As soon as he saw his father enter the office he said, "Dad, I want to sue Jacob Black for attacking me."

"You will do no such thing, especially considering I saw that you provoked him," Carlisle replied. He walked around his desk and sat down in his chair before turning his blue eyes on his son. His gaze hardening he said, "Edward, I have always tried giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I see my lenience concerning you and your actions have done nothing but seemed to allow you to do whatever it is that you want. It's hard for me to believe that I've raised a spoiled, disrespectful brat, but I see that I have."

"Dad!"

"Quiet, Edward. I can't believe that you caused a scene here in the hospital, my place of work no less. Did you not at all understand the situation that you walked into, or did you just blatantly ignore it?"

Edward looked off to the side for a moment before answering, "I heard them say that Bella was sick and dying, but I just thought they were exaggerating to get me to leave. All I want is to get back together with her; she's my soul mate, I know it."

"Edward, Bella _is_ sick, very sick. She has stomach cancer, stage four. And the reason she's here right now is because when Jacob brought her here, she was throwing up blood. Her chances of living aren't looking good but I am remaining optimistic, and I believe that she is as well. I shouldn't even be telling you this, but I feel I must because you need to know that Bella is trying to live her life and be happy, and I'm sorry but it doesn't include you. Whatever delusional fantasy you've created in your head concerning you and Bella, let it go. She's in love with Jacob and she's happy. There is no reason for you to ruin it, especially if this is the start of her last moments on earth. Now when she wakes up, I want you to apologize to her since you claim to love her oh so much, unless apologizing is beneath you."

Carlisle left his office to head to another one of his patients, leaving his son to sit and think about what he said. And for the first time since knowing Bella, Edward believed that he didn't deserve her and that he was probably the worst person ever. No wonder Bella wanted nothing more to do with him anymore.

* * *

Days passed with Bella having become a resident at Forks Hospital, and each day her vitals seemed to become lower and lower. It was starting to become a bit harder for Bella to breathe since she had thrown up blood and her stomach hurting all of the time and had to constantly be on oxygen. She refused an oxygen mask so she was sporting a nasal cannula instead. Her hair was starting to grow back and left light fuzz around her head.

Bella had been informed of what was planned for her on the upcoming Saturday and what the risks were. It scared her a little that she could die on the operating table, but she felt optimistic about her surgery and that she would make it through. She was sad though that she would end up missing the Forks High School prom; she had so been looking forward to going with Jacob to that, but it seemed like fate had other plans for her. It was alright though since she got to see her love every day. Jacob practically spent every night with her at the hospital, Carlisle, Charlie, and Billy allowing him to do so. The only time he hadn't was when Renee and Charlie insisted on staying and sent Jacob home to get some proper rest in his bed. That had been just last night and now it was Thursday. Her surgery date was just around the corner at eight in the morning, and Bella could only pray that everything would work out for her. She wanted to be cancer free, she wanted to live, she didn't want to leave her parents, and she definitely didn't want to leave Jacob.

* * *

Bella was lying in her hospital bed watching an episode of _The Golden Girls_ Friday evening when Angela and Jessica walked into her hospital room. Bella smiled seeing them in their prom dresses and said, "Hi guys."

Angela smiled back and said as she walked over, "Hi Bella. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Going to prom?"

"Yes."

"Well I hope you both have fun. Say 'hi' to Quil and Embry for me."

Jessica smiled and replied, "Or you could say that to them yourself."

Before Bella could ask what she meant Jessica walked to the door and opened it, beckoning someone inside. Entering her hospital room was Renee followed by two nurses, and in her mother's hand was her prom dress. Brown eyes looked at it in confusion before Bella said, "I don't understand."

"You're not missing your prom, Bella. I won't allow it," Jessica said.

"But Jess, I can't leave the hospital."

"Who said anything about leaving the hospital?"

Bella was completely confused and barely protested as her mother, friends, and the nurses got her out of the hospital bed and changed into her red prom dress, silver flats on her feet and her headband back on her head. Renee bypassed the makeup but put a bit of moisturizer on her daughter's lips before readjusting her nasal cannula, one of the nurses making sure it was attached to a portable oxygen tank and the other helping Bella to sit in a wheelchair. When the women had finished fussing over her they stood back and smiled brightly at her.

"You look beautiful, honey," Renee said with tears in her eyes. "Now go enjoy your night."

The brunette smiled up at her mom though her chocolate brown eyes still held confusion and question in them. One of the nurses opened the door and Angela rolled Bella out of the room, Jessica following behind. As she rolled her down the hall to the elevator Bella asked, "Guys, what is going on?"

Angela giggled and answered, "You'll see. But for now, just close your eyes and trust us."

"I don't like surprises."

"I promise you'll love this one."

Bella was skeptical as she watched her friends exchange secretive glances at each other, but decided to trust them. As they entered the elevator Bella closed her eyes, waiting for whatever it was that her friends had planned.

* * *

When the elevator stopped Bella felt Angela roll her out it and down some hallways, people talking around them. She had heard a few of them gasp in awe at them and state that they looked absolutely beautiful. She had blushed when she heard a little girl tell her mother that she looked like a princess; she knew it was her because she had specifically said 'the one in the rolley chair'. Before long she heard a door open and was immediately met with the feeling of fresh air on her skin. Frowning she called out, "Angela? Jessica?"

She heard the girls giggle a little as they continued to roll her wherever they were going before they finally stopped. Angela placed her hands on Bella's shoulders and softly said, "Okay, now you can open your eyes."

Bella did just that and gasped as she was met with a loud exclamation of "Surprise!" She couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand as her wide eyes took in the sight before her.

The hospital garden had been completely decked out with white Christmas lights, balloons, candles, streamers, and tables covered with food and drinks. There was a band not far off playing music and standing all around smiling at her with wide, genuine smiles was her senior class dressed in their prom attire. Among them were Quil, Embry, Leah, Sam, Paul, Jared, as well as the Cullen clan. Tears filled her eyes as she softly asked, "What is all this?"

Jessica bent down next to her and answered, "I didn't want you to miss your final prom. I didn't think it was fair that you wouldn't be able to experience it. You're like, one of my best friends Bella. I wasn't going to spend this night without you. It took a bit of persuading and some last minute changes, but I convinced the principal and the hospital to host the prom here in the gardens so that you could also be a part of it."

Angela rubbed her shoulders and said, "We want you to know that we're forever here for you. And that no matter the outcome of tomorrow we love you."

The tears Bella had been holding spilled over onto her cheeks as a happy sob escaped her throat. She covered her face as she cried, feeling Angela and Jessica wrap their arms around her in a tight, loving hug. Uncovering her face she touched one of their arms each and said through her sobs, "Thank you so much. This is the sweetest thing anyone's done for me. I love you guys; you're the best unofficial sisters I've ever had."

Jessica and Angela felt tears fill their eyes as well and let them spill over before Jessica cleared her throat and composed herself. Letting go of Bella she faced the crowd of their fellow schoolmates and yelled, "Alright, now let's get this prom started!"

Everyone cheered and the band struck up a new, upbeat song. The students split off to do their own thing, some of them coming to speak with Bella a bit and wish her luck on the surgery she was having to remove her tumor in the morning. She didn't question how they knew but was happy that they were thinking of her. Quil, Embry, and the rest of Jacob's friends came over to talk to her as well, Leah bringing a plate of fruit for her to nibble on. As she talked to them Bella began to look around, looking for a certain someone.

Right when she was going to ask where her boyfriend was, Edward stepped up to her and asked, "Bella, can I speak with you?"

Bella looked up at him from her wheelchair before nodding and allowing him to roll her over to an empty table. She waved to Alice and Rosalie as they passed, Alice grinning and waving at her while Rosalie nodded with a small smile. When they reached the table Edward sat down in the empty chair that was there before looking at her. The two of them said nothing at first but then the silence between them was broken when Edward finally said, "I just want to apologize to you, Bella."

Seeing that she was waiting for him to continue he said, "I realize that I was being, in the words of Emmett, a complete and utter dick to you thinking that you would forgive me for cheating on you and expecting you to come back to me. I also realize that I was very controlling in our relationship and was holding you to a standard that you could never be. I guess that I had this fantasy in my head with you in it and was trying to hold onto it. What I didn't realize until later was that you weren't really happy with me and I was deluding myself into thinking that you were. But when I saw what kind of happiness that Jacob Black was able to bring you, I was instantly jealous. The way your eyes would light up when you saw him, how you would smile and completely relax in his presence, how he loves you unconditionally and wouldn't change a thing about you, it made me want to provide that for you and believe that I could. But I know now that I can't and never will. Again, I am very sorry and I just hope that you can forgive me and I wish you all the best with Jacob. If anyone deserves you, it's him."

Bella stared at him for a moment before giving him a small smile and saying, "Thank you, Edward. I hope you find real happiness one day."

Edward smiled and stood, but not before bending down and giving Bella one last kiss on her cheek, and then he walked away. Bella let out a breath before trying to turn her chair around to leave the table. Right when she was almost fully turned around, warm hands placed themselves on her bare shoulders and said, "Sorry I'm late. I had some things I needed to wrap up."

Bella grinned as she looked up into the eyes of her boyfriend and reached a hand up before replying, "It's alright. I'm glad you're here, Jake."

Jacob grinned and bent down to kiss his girlfriend fully on the lips. Releasing her lips he said, "Let's go have some fun, Bells."

Nodding Bella allowed Jacob to lead her to the unofficial dance floor where they danced surrounded by their friends. And as the night wore on, Bella not once felt the pain that was present in her stomach as she had fun with her friends and with Jacob.

* * *

Hours went by as the teenagers were having fun in the makeshift prom in the hospital gardens and before long it was one in the morning. People began to leave, bidding everyone 'goodbye' and stopping to see Bella before completely leaving. The band was packing up to leave as well and Jacob's friends were cleaning up the mess, the leftover food either being put onto plates to take home or was eaten between Paul, Quil, and Embry. Angela and Jessica were waiting for their dates to take them home and were quietly talking to Bella while Jacob was conversing with Jared. Sam and Leah were standing off to the side talking as well, Sam's arms wrapped around his girlfriend as he held her close and whispered in her ear, Leah smiling and nuzzling his neck. Before long the gardens were clear of any trash and streamers, the Christmas lights all down and put back in whatever boxes they came from. Quil and Jessica bid everyone 'goodnight' before taking all of the decorations that she brought to her car. Embry and Angela left as well, followed by everyone else until it was only Jacob and Bella left in the gardens.

Jacob looked down at Bella who was holding his hand and asked, "Did you have a good time tonight, Bella?"

Bella nodded and replied softly, "It was perfect. Are you going to tell me the reason why you were late?"

"Maybe later, but right now I better get you back to your room."

Bella nodded as Jacob stood and pushed her in her wheelchair back inside the hospital and to the elevator to take her back to her floor. She couldn't believe in just a few hours she would be having surgery that would help to lead her to no longer having stomach cancer or ultimately lead to her death. The sudden thought of it saddened her as she realized that tonight would be the last she would look into Jacob's eyes and spend time with him if that were the case.

When they reached her hospital room and entered it, Bella asked, "Jake, can you do one more thing before you have to leave?"

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

Looking up into his brown eyes Bella said simply, "Dance with me."

Jacob stared down at her before a small smile spread across his lips and he nodded. He knew what she was asking of him, knowing the thoughts that lead to her simple request. He had been thinking the same thing and wasn't sure how to broach it. Taking the portable oxygen tank that was attached to her nasal cannula, he hooked it on his arm before lifting her out of the wheelchair, her arms wrapping around his neck. Bella laid her head over on his strong shoulder as he began to sway with her in his arms, listening to his soft humming and closing her eyes. Opening them again she saw the chain to the locket she had given him around his neck and gently pulled it out of his tuxedo shirt, holding it in her hand.

As she listened to Jacob hum and sway with her in circles, she realized something she had never realized before. Her hand being right over Jacob's heart, she could feel it beating. Not only could she feel it beating, she realized that it was beating in time with her own in the exact same rhythm; their hearts were beating as one. Tears came to her eyes and she looked up at him, her chocolate brown eyes looking right into Jacob's. With her tears spilling down her cheeks she whispered, "I love you, Jacob Black. I love you so much."

Tears filled Jacob's own eyes and he bent down so his forehead touched Bella's, looking into her eyes as well as he replied in a whisper, "I love you too, Isabella Swan, and I always will."

Their lips met in a sweet kiss, all of their passion and love for each other pouring into it. When they let go of the kiss, Jacob rested his head against Bella's as she held onto him tighter, continuing their dance in the hospital room.

* * *

Outside in the hallway outside of the room, Renee, Charlie, and Billy all looked through the window as they watched their children dance together, Bella being held in Jacob's arms. It had taken them a moment to understand what they were doing when they first saw them, but when it hit them Renee burst into tears, Billy and Charlie having their own silently run down their faces.

They knew they should tell them that Bella needed to rest to be prepared for her surgery, but they couldn't bring themselves to interrupt them. The love the two teenagers shared was as obvious as it was strong; only a fool wouldn't be able to see it. The three adults let their children have this moment, as it was probable that it was their last together.


	18. Chapter 18

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 18

Renee watched her daughter sleep as she held her hand, silently counting down the clock before the nurses came to take her to be prepped and ready for surgery. She had about thirty minutes left before they came. As she looked at Bella's sleeping face, Renee smiled softly and whispered, "I remember when I first held you in my arms after you were born. I couldn't help but think, 'Wow, this perfect little being belongs to me'. I've never felt happiness like that until you came. Your father was just as happy and proud. I promised then that I'd never let anything bad happen to you. Charlie vowed that nothing would take you from us, even when we did separate and divorce. So when we found out you had cancer, it felt almost like the world was throwing our promises back in our faces, as if we couldn't keep them. Even so, your father and I are holding onto our promises, honey. You're going to be fine, and cancer won't take you from us. You're going to live a long and happy life, one where you will get married, have children, grow old and outlive Charlie and I; I just know it. Bella, you're going to be okay, I promise."

Bella's hand lightly squeezed hers, as if giving a response to her soft words. Renee smiled and kissed her daughter's hand before standing and kissing her on her forehead. She walked towards the door to leave but stopped when a soft call of her name was heard. Turning she saw Bella looking at her with a small smile on her face.

"Mom," Bella started. "If something happens to me, promise me something."

"Anything Bella," Renee responded.

"Promise me that you and dad will look after each other. I know you both love each other, probably more than you want to admit, but just take care of each other and promise you won't fall apart if I die."

Renee's eyes filled with tears as she nodded and promised that she would. Her tears fell as she left Bella's hospital room, wiping them away as she headed to the waiting area where Charlie, Billy, and Jacob were waiting. The Blacks had arrived about thirty minutes ago, adamant about being present the whole time Bella would be in surgery. Renee told Jacob to go and see Bella before the nurses came for her. The boy and his father both left for Bella's room, leaving Renee and Charlie alone.

Charlie looked at his ex-wife sit next to him before softly asking, "What did she say?"

Sniffling a little Renee answered, "She made me promise that if she dies, we take care of each other."

"Of course we will."

"She also…she also stated that we still love each other. We love each other more than we currently think we do. I think she was implying that we may still be in love with one another. That sounds ridiculous, right?"

Charlie said nothing at first, but he then shocked Renee when he asked, "Would it be if she was right?"

Renee stared wide eyed at her ex-husband as she stammered, "Y-You mean…you still…Charlie…"

"I do still love you, Ree. I'm still very much in love with you, but I don't want you to come back to me out of some sort of guilt or obligation to Bella's wish. If you still love me and are still in love with me to come back, then take the time you need to be sure. But otherwise, let's just forget this talk and focus on Bella."

The woman said nothing at first, but then she nodded and laid her head over on Charlie's shoulder, closing her eyes as she thought about what he said while also praying for Bella.

* * *

Billy and Jacob spoke to Bella for as long as they could before the nurses came to escort her away for surgery. Billy gave her hand a squeeze and said, "We'll be waiting for you when you're done."

Bella smiled and said, "Thanks Billy."

Jacob moved closer to Bella and bent down so his forehead was against hers, softly saying, "You'll pull through, I just know it. Hold on for me, okay Bells?"

"Okay," Bella replied with a smile. "I'll see you later."

The two of them smiled at each other before Jacob kissed her on the lips once more before leaving with his father, letting the nurses get Bella to take her to the OR.

* * *

Carlisle watched as one of his assistants began to put Bella under the anesthesia, seeing she was already on her way to sleep so they could perform the surgery to remove her malignant tumor. Moving into her line of sight he said, "Don't you worry, Bella. You're in good hands, and it'll be over before you know it."

Bella nodded slightly as she continued to breathe in the anesthesia, letting him know she had heard him before she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hours passed by in the waiting room for the Swan and Black family, and still no word to let them know an update on Bella's condition or how the surgery was going. It was now going on one in the afternoon, and her surgery had started at eight. Charlie and Billy had left for the cafeteria to bring food back for them all, and coffee to keep them alert. Jacob however could barely eat a thing, he was so worried.

Right when he was about to stand and start pacing again, a doctor wearing scrubs and a mask walked by, carrying a small tub of about three bags of blood. Suddenly getting a sense of fear Jacob walked over to him and asked, "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"

The doctor nodded and answered, "Sure, but you'll have to be quick."

"Those blood bags, where are they going?"

"To Operating Room #4. Dr. Cullen needs them since the patient has a chance of losing a lot of blood with the removal of the tumor they are trying to take out of her."

Before more could be asked a nurse rushed in and said, "Dr. Patterson, Dr. Cullen needs those blood bags now. The blood vessel is spilling blood and we're trying to staunch it, and the tumor isn't even fully taken from the stomach lining."

The doctor nodded and excused himself before hurrying after the nurse, leaving Jacob standing in the waiting room. Charlie, Renee, and Billy had heard what the doctor had said but were watching Jacob to see what he would do. The boy looked tired as well as pale and they weren't sure he needed to hear the news he just received. Billy rolled over to his son and said softly, "Jake."

Jacob looked down at his father before his lip trembled and tears filled his eyes, spilling over onto his cheeks. With a sob his legs gave out and he dropped to the floor, leaning his head his father's lap as he cried the tears he refused to cry before, all of the tears that housed his pain, worry, and fears. Billy caressed Jacob's head as he let him cry, knowing he had to let go of all the emotions he had been holding in to be strong for Bella. He bent down to cradle his son's head to him as he whispered, "It's alright, son. Everything will be alright."

* * *

Two more hours passed before Carlisle finally exited the OR to make his way to the waiting room. He greeted a few passing nurses and doctors before making it to the waiting room where he found the Swans and Blacks still waiting, as well as Angela, Jessica, Quil, and Embry.

Charlie looked up and saw the blond doctor, standing and walking over to him followed by Renee and Jacob. Reaching him he said anxiously, "Well?"

Carlisle smiled and said, "The tumor was removed with success. The next forty-eight hours will be critical for her and further tests will have to be run after she heals properly to be determined whether or not she is cancer free. But as of right now, Bella no longer has to suffer from her stomach tumor."

Renee let out a cry of joy and hugged Charlie close, kissing him on his lips before moving to hug Billy and whoever else she could get her hands on. Jacob grinned brightly as the woman hugged him before he asked, "When can we see her?"

"Give us about forty-five minutes, and then I will come back for you all. But don't expect for her to wake up any time soon, though," Carlisle answered.

Jacob nodded and thanked him before turning back to the others. Carlisle let out a relieved sigh before turning to leave the waiting room. Another smile found its way in his face as he wiped away the few tears that were threatening to fall. He knew Bella would be alright and would survive the surgery, and she had.

* * *

Forty-eight hours had gone by since Bella's surgery and everything seemed to be alright and in order. Bella was awake and smiling, happy to know that she hadn't passed away and was still with her family and friends. But most of all, she was happy that she was still there with Jacob by her side. As soon as she had laid her eyes on him after waking up, she had been surprised to see him cry as he leant his head down on her chest. Everyone had left them alone and she comforted him, letting him know that she was right there and that she loved him.

She told him that while she had been under for the surgery, she had had the most surreal dream, almost like it was a vision of the future. In it Bella and Jacob were walking hand in hand on First Beach, both of them smiling lovingly at one another. They each wore a wedding band on their fingers, letting her know they were married. Ahead of them playing in the water and running after one another were two children, a boy and a girl. They had looked back at them, running to them and calling them 'mommy' and 'daddy'. And furthermore was that in the dream, she was sporting a rounded stomach, letting her know that she was expecting another child as well, along with the two that her and Jacob obviously had in the dream. It was all so surreal but it seemed as if it could be reality. Jacob didn't doubt it once and told her that that probably was what the future had in store for them. Bella had smiled and told him that she loved him, followed by them kissing sweetly before being interrupted by Angela, Jessica, Embry, and Quil.

That had been about three weeks ago, and now it was the day Carlisle wanted to run some tests on Bella to see if she was indeed in remission. They had already run them and were just waiting on the results. While they were waiting Angela had visited to let her know how graduation preparations were coming to a close.

"It sucks that you won't be able to walk with us," Angela said. "I wish you could have finished."

Bella smiled and replied, "It's alright, Ang. Besides, I'm already in the process of getting a GED. Mom and dad looked into it and are getting me set up. And then mom said something about throwing a "graduation party" for when I get my certificate."

Angela couldn't help but laugh at the somewhat displeased look on her friend's face at the thought of the party. Composing herself she said, "Let Renee indulge, Bella."

"Whatever."

The girls laughed as Jacob and Embry walked into the room, both of them smiling seeing their girlfriends laughing together. Walking over to Bella Jacob asked, "What are you girls giggling about?"

Bella smiled and answered, "The supposed graduation party Renee wants to throw me when I get my GED."

Jacob hummed as he thought of whatever kind of extravagance Bella's mom was sure to throw for her daughter. Deciding to change the subject he said, "I can't believe your parents are back together, though."

Nodding Bella smiled as she thought of when she received the news of her parents getting back together again. As it turned out, just like she secretly knew, her parents still loved one another and were still in love. Whatever they couldn't make work the first time around, they were making it work this time. Charlie and Renee planned on getting married as well, but not until Bella was fully recovered and out of the hospital. When Billy teasingly brought up the subject of more children, both Renee and Charlie had blanched. But then Billy was shocked when they looked at each other and stated that they weren't opposed to more, though they would probably look into surrogacy. Bella wouldn't be surprised though if her mother did wind up pregnant again by her father.

The door to the hospital room opened once more and Charlie and Renee entered, followed by Dr. Cullen. They all greeted each other before Renee said, "Alright everyone, Dr. Cullen has the news about Bella's test results."

Carlisle nodded and looked at Bella asking, "Are you ready to hear them, Bella?"

Bella looked at Jacob who gave her an encouraging nod, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. She took a deep breath and looked back at her doctor saying, "Yeah, I'm ready."

Everyone waited with baited breaths as Carlisle looked over his papers on his clipboard for a moment. He then looked up into Bella's eyes and smiled before saying, "Congratulations Bella. As of today, you are completely considered cancer-free."


	19. Chapter 19

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 19

 _5 Months Later…_

"Jake, where are we going?" Bella asked with a slight giggle as Jacob pulled her out of the little red house and to his car.

"I want some time alone with you. I haven't had you to myself the whole day," Jacob replied with his usual sweet smile.

Today was Bella's nineteenth birthday and they were having it at the Black household on the Reservation. Bella had spent the night with Jacob and when she woke up, she was surprised (more like startled) by the sudden appearance of Jacob, Embry, and Quil as they burst into Jacob's room and sang 'Happy Birthday'. Renee had then walked past them to greet her daughter and wish her 'happy birthday' as well. After Bella had gotten ready for the day she was also greeted by her father and Billy with the same greeting, as well as Angela and Jessica. The day had been fun so far, everyone giving the birthday girl her presents that she had insisted she didn't need; though she wouldn't deny she squealed in delight when her parents gave her a KitchenAid stand mixer. She had been happy with all the gifts she received, but she still had yet to receive her gift from Jacob. All Jacob had said was that he would give it to her later.

As Jacob opened the passenger side door for her, Charlie stepped out on the porch and called out, "Don't have her gone too long, Jake!"

Billy shook his head as he rolled out of his house next to his friend and said, "Let them be, chief. They'll be alright, not to mention they could use some time alone on Bella's birthday."

"That's what I'm worried about, them having _too_ much alone time."

Jacob chuckled as he shut the door when Bella got inside. He walked over to the driver's side of his Rabbit and got in, cranking the engine and beginning to back away from the house to turn around. When he was fully turned around he rolled down the window and looked at Charlie with a sly grin before saying, "I know what you're thinking, Charlie. And just so you know, you're about five months too late to be warning us about that."

Bella let out a horrified squeak as Charlie's eyes widened significantly and his face turned bright red. Jacob laughed as he sped away, Billy's laughter filling the air as they left.

* * *

Charlie stood gaping as his and his friend's offspring drove off together, his mind still completely bewildered by Jacob's statement. When he finally snapped out of his shocked daze he glared at Billy and yelled, "Stop laughing! You're son took my little girl's virtue!"

Billy calmed down his laughter and replied, "Please, like they'd give it to anyone else."

"You mean…Jacob was…"

"Yes, he was a virgin as well. They gave themselves to each other."

Charlie wasn't sure what to feel at hearing the news. On one hand he was almost kind of glad Bella gave her first time to Jacob and vice versa. On the other hand he wanted to ring the boy's neck about it. And above all, he really didn't want to have "the talk" with them about it later. Walking back inside the Black house he went to the kitchen where Renee was cleaning some dishes.

"Renee," Charlie called, getting his wife's attention.

Charlie and Renee had remarried two months following Bella's surgery and recovery. It was nothing big, just a small ceremony held at the courthouse with a reception of sorts at the Swan household. And everyone who saw them together immediately would say they've never seen two people previously married before look so much happier remarried. They had kept their old wedding rings and used those once more, wearing them proudly for the world to see.

Renee turned to look at her husband and said, "Yes?"

"Did you know Bella slept with Jacob?" Charlie asked, his face turning red again.

Nodding she answered, "Yes, I knew. They've been making love since they went to Jacob's prom."

"What?!"

"Bella told me, but that was only because I had to pry it out of her."

"And how did you do that?"

"I saw Jacob sneak out of the house early one morning when I was out on my morning jog, Bella waving after him with an obvious post sex aura about her. You were gone to work by that point, though."

Charlie's chocolate brown eyes grew to the size of saucers as he exclaimed, "They had sex in my house?!"

Renee smirked at her husband and replied, "Don't be so shocked, Charlie. We used to have sex in your parents house all the time when we were Bella's age."

If the police chief wanted to refute that statement, he couldn't think of anything to say to do so. Seeing Charlie flustered caused Renee to laugh and she kissed him sweetly before saying, "They're using protection, if it makes you feel better. Now come on, help me finish cleaning."

Charlie sighed and nodded, deciding to not say anything more on the subject. But he'd be damned if he didn't talk to Billy about his son needing to control his hormones.

* * *

"I can't believe you said that to my dad," Bella said for what was probably the fifteenth time. "I mean, did you see his face? He'll never look at me the same way again!"

Jacob laughed and replied, "His face was priceless. But don't worry about yourself just yet, Bells. I've got myself to worry about now."

"Well it's your own fault; you deserve it. I still can't believe you boldly told Charlie that we've already slept together."

Chuckling Jacob wrapped his arms around Bella's shoulders and held her close as they sat on the old log on First Beach that they deemed 'their spot'. He ran his hands through Bella's short hair, smiling at the silky feel of it as well as her contented hum. Her hair was finally growing back since she was announced in remission from stomach cancer and was currently sporting some sort of cropped hairstyle, though her hair was still long in the front a bit with the new cut of bangs.

It seemed almost like yesterday to Jacob still since Bella was announced cancer-free, that she would no longer be sick to the point of dying. There were a few scares since then, but every test taken had shown no signs of her cancer coming back, and for that Jacob was thankful. He honestly couldn't imagine not having his girlfriend, his love, the only person he could see himself having a future with by his side.

After a moment of silence Bella broke it by asking, "Jake, are you going to give me my present now?"

Nodding Jacob pulled away from Bella and said, "Yeah, and I'll be honest, I'm really nervous about it."

Frowning the brunette asked, "Why? Is it bad?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Then what is it? Am I not going to like it?"

Jacob said nothing in response, but instead reached into his pocket and pulled out a little drawstring bag. He handed it to Bella and watched her confused expression as she took it from him, practically holding his breath as she opened it and spilled its contents in her hand.

A gasp left Bella's lips as she gazed down at the simple, yet completely elegant ring lying in the palm of her hand. The band was gold with embroidered vines and little pink flowers. She knew this ring; she had seen it in a picture of Jacob's late mother Sarah. Sarah had her chin resting in her hands as she smiled brightly at the camera, the ring shining just as bright as her smile that her boyfriend had inherited. Looking up at Jacob she softly said, "Jake."

Looking into the chocolate brown eyes he loved so much, Jacob said, "I know this is coming off as a shock, but just hear me out. Right before my mom died she gave my dad her ring and told him to hold onto it for me. She told him that he should only give it to me when he was certain that I had found the right girl for me, the one that I knew I was going to love for the rest of my life and beyond that. And I do know, Bella; it's you. I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anything or anyone. When you were in the hospital when you took a turn for the worse because of your cancer, all I could think other than hoping you were going to be okay was that I'd rather it be me lying in that hospital bed than you. Bella, I love you and I want to be with you forever."

Tears filled Bella's eyes as she asked, "Are you…are you proposing to me?"

"Kind of, though I'd like to think of it as more of a promise, a promise that I'll never see or want anyone but you. And that when the right time comes, we'll be ready to take that big step of commitment with each other."

Bella's tears spilt over as she nodded as she answered 'yes', smiling brightly as Jacob took the ring and slid it onto her finger. Smiling Jacob wrapped her up in a loving hug, holding her close as she cried tears of happiness and love. Pulling away a little Jacob placed a love filled kiss onto Bella's pink lips, both of them sharing their love for one another through their kiss.

The moment Bella released Jacob's lips from her own she threw herself at him in another embrace, knocking them both from the log and into the sand. Leaning up a bit she looked into his brown eyes and said, "I love you, Jacob Black."

Jacob smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead before saying, "And I love you, Bella Swan."

* * *

Bella sighed in pleasure as Jacob pressed kisses down the valley of her breasts and down her stomach until his lips reached her underwear. She watched as he sat up a bit on her bed and hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties, slowly pulling them down her legs and off of her. He tossed them in the floor, leaving her fully naked while he remained in only his boxers. Jacob kissed her waist before going down on her, making Bella let out a cry of pleasure as his mouth and tongue touched and caressed her wet, sensitive area.

After Jacob's half proposal, they decided to head back to Bella's house and spend some quality alone time while they had the house to themselves. It didn't take long however before they were stripping each other of their clothing, leaving a trail from the bottom of the stairs all the way up to Bella's bedroom.

Jacob moaned at the sweet taste of his love, delving his tongue further inside her as she released moans and cries, her hips raising up from the bed, causing him to pin them down while he continued to devour her. Bella whimpered as Jacob's mouth drove her quickly towards her orgasm, her hips stuttering underneath his grip. Right when she was about to let go completely, Jacob backed away and took off his boxers, grabbing one of the condoms Bella kept in her bedside drawer.

Ripping the small package open and rolling the piece of latex on his erection, Jacob asked in a husky voice, "Are you ready, honey?"

Nodding while biting her lip Bella answered, "Yes Jake, please hurry."

Not needing to be told twice he climbed back on top of Bella and slid into her, groaning lowly as he was immediately engulfed by her warm center. The brunette let out a loud moan of pleasure at being filled and reached her hands up to cup Jacob's face, pulling him down into a heated kiss as he began to move. The two of them moved together, hands touching every inch that they could as sighs and moans of pleasure filled the air. Bella's voice raised about four octaves higher as Jacob thrust harder and faster into her, bringing her once again closer and closer to the edge. Before long the both of them released, having one of their more intense orgasms ever with a whisper of each other's names in their ears.

Breathing heavily Jacob pulled out of Bella and took the condom off, tying it and throwing it in the small waste bin next to the desk before lying back down on top of Bella, his head resting on her chest over her beating heart. Bella wrapped her arms around Jacob's large frame and held him close, her fingers lightly raking through his hair as they caught their breaths and their heart rates returned to normal. After a while Jacob moved up a little to place his face in the crook of her neck and whispered, "Happy birthday, Bells. I love you."

Bella smiled and replied softly, "Thank you, Jake. And I love you too."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is the penultimate chapter before the closing chapter of Holding On. I hope you all have enjoyed the story up to this point leading to the end and stay tuned for the final chapter. Love, SehunsBae37.**


	20. Chapter 20

Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 20

 _6 Years Later…_

Bella hummed to herself as she busied around her kitchen that Saturday morning, getting breakfast prepared. It was a bit chilly in the kitchen as it was the fall season and she was wearing nothing but her husband's large t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts, but she knew with the stove going she would warm up pretty soon. As she bent down to get a pan out from underneath the cabinet she heard the sound of a coo coming from the hallway. Standing back up with the pan she placed it on the stove before moving to peer into the hallway.

A smile appeared on her face when she saw her one year old son crawling his way slowly down the hallway, a look of concentration on his face as he watched his hands move one in front of the other. Bella giggled and he looked up, his chocolate brown eyes lighting up as he smiled at his mommy. Sitting back on his bottom he reached up to be picked up by Bella.

Two years ago Jacob and Bella had officially gotten married in a small ceremony on First Beach, with Angela as her maid of honor and Jessica and Leah as her bridesmaids. Jacob had Embry as his best man and Quil and Sam as his groomsmen. Quil's grandfather Old Quil had done the proceedings and wedded Bella and Jacob, and Bella was soon pronounced Mrs. Jacob Black. They had moved into the house that Jacob had shown her the night of his shindig that had once belonged to his grandparents and he and his friends had finished renovating it, making it look like a brand new house. Billy had shed a few tears at the sight of it, happy his late wife's parents house wouldn't continue to sit and weather away. Bella and Jacob lived happily together and a year later welcomed a little boy into their lives that they named William Charles Black.

"Good morning, Little Billy," Bella said as she picked up her son. She and Jacob had taken to calling their son Little Billy, seeing as he seemed to be the spitting image of his grandfather, though his eyes came from his other grandfather, as well as his mother. Cuddling him close she asked, "How's my big boy? And how did you get out of mommy and daddy's bed without a sound?"

Little Billy smiled and laid his head over on his mother's shoulder while babbling a little. Bella shook her head and said, "Let's go wake up daddy."

Bella walked down the hall into her and Jacob's bedroom and over to the bed where Jacob was still sleeping peacefully. Sitting on the bed she placed Little Billy in front of Jacob's face and whispered, "Wake up daddy, honey."

Seeming to understand what his mommy wanted Little Billy reached over to touch his daddy's face. When Jacob made no move as to wake up, the one year old raised his little hand and let out a shout before bringing it back down, hitting Jacob in his face with a resounding smack. Jacob's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, causing Bella to laugh at him, and laugh more at the light red mark on his cheek.

Jacob glared at his wife briefly before looking down at his son who was giggling up at him. The glare on Jacob's face disappeared as he grinned down at his son, picking him up at hugging him close. Looking down at him he greeted, "Good morning, sport. Nice little wakeup call you gave me."

"Da!" Little Billy exclaimed as he smiled up at Jacob.

The man chuckled and kissed Little Billy on his forehead before leaning over to give his wife a kiss on her lips. Smiling at her he softly greeted, "Morning Bells."

"Morning Jake," Bella greeted in return.

The three of them sat in the bedroom for a while, Jacob and Bella talking softly before Bella left her son with her husband so she could go and get breakfast started. Before long breakfast was finished and served and the three of them were seated at the table eating, Little Billy in his highchair with a bowl of apple sauce in front of him. After breakfast had ended Jacob went back to the bedroom to get dressed before heading off to the garage that him, Embry, Sam, and Paul had opened; they had called it _Wolf Pack Auto and Parts_ , and business had been booming for them since they opened. Quil and Jared helped out when they could, but were busy with their own ambitions and that was fine.

Jacob gave Bella and Little Billy a kiss before leaving, telling them he would see them around lunchtime. After he was gone, Bella took her son to change his diaper and dress him before dressing herself, ready to start her day.

* * *

"Thank you and come again!" Bella called after the customer that was leaving her bakery. Bella and her mother had opened up a little bakery that had suddenly become very popular in Forks and business was great. They called it _Swan Ladies Bakery_ and had hired a few people to help them out. Renee mostly took care of the finances and such, while Bella was in the kitchen baking with the other employees. Bella had hired Leah's cousin Emily at one point, but Emily quit later on for some unknown reason. It wasn't until later when Jacob told her that Emily and Leah were on bad terms because Emily had tried to take Sam out from under Leah once and Leah kicked her ass for it; the couple was engaged and Leah would be damned if she had her cousin of all people try to ruin it. Emily had been upset that Sam rejected her following her beat down from her cousin and later decided to leave the state and live elsewhere. Bella couldn't wrap her mind around the situation but decided not say or think about it. To her, life was too short to dwell on pettiness.

Bella had just turned to tell one of the employees to bring out more butter croissants when the bell above the door rang, alerting her of another customer. She had turned to greet the new customer, but smiled when she saw it was her father instead, followed by her little six year old brother Nathan.

"Bee!" Nathan exclaimed as he ran around the counter to hug his big sister.

Laughing Bella bent down and picked him up as she hugged him saying, "Hi Nate." Looking at her father she said, "Hey dad. Come in for something before going to work?"

"Of course. How about some beignets? You make the best ones I've ever tasted," Charlie said with a grin.

Bella blushed at the praise and set Nathan down before saying, "You're just saying that because I'm your daughter and you're biased."

"Hey, I wouldn't say it unless it was true."

Shaking her head Bella moved to place three of them covered in confectioner sugar in a bag and gave it to her dad, who gave her the amount of money needed to pay for them in return. Once she did this she looked down at Nathan and said, "Go see mom before you have to go to soccer practice."

Nathan nodded and rushed to the back office leaving Bella and Charlie to talk for a little while. Charlie asked where Little Billy was since both she and Jacob were working, to which Bella replied that he was with Leah and Sam. The two of them, now married, were expecting a new addition to their own little family and wanted to spend some time taking care of Little Billy before their own little girl arrived so they would know what to do. Though Sue had made it clear she would also be there to help them. Seth was also with them as well, loving to spend time with his best friend's child.

Before long Nathan and Renee appeared from the back and Renee gave her husband a kiss before hugging both him and their son 'goodbye'. Once they were gone Renee looked at her daughter and asked, "You didn't let Charlie have those pastries for free, did you?"

The brunette giggled before answering, "No mom, though you're one to talk giving him and Nathan free stuff when you think I don't see it."

Renee rolled her eyes and replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Bella laughed as her mother went back to the office, leaving her to head back to the kitchen to help her other baker.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around Bella left her bakery to head to the Uley household. She smiled seeing Sam and Seth playing with Little Billy in the front yard with the Akita puppy that Leah had gotten her little brother. Leah was seated on the steps of their porch, her hand resting on her six month pregnant stomach.

Getting out of her car she walked over to them and said, "Hi guys."

Seth grinned at his best friend's wife and yelled, "Hi Bella!"

Sam and Leah both greeted Bella as well, Sam passing Little Billy to his mother. Bella kissed her son on his cheek before conversing with Leah a bit, Sam and Seth going back inside the house to get the Little Billy's baby bag and carrier. After the carrier was strapped in the backseat of Bella's car, baby bag next to it, and Little Billy strapped in, Bella waved 'goodbye' to the three and headed towards Jacob's garage. Along the way Bella grimaced feeling a pain go through her stomach and she rubbed it, thinking it was nothing. However she couldn't help but think back to when she had first experienced the same kind of pain when she was fifteen, leading up to finding out she had stomach cancer. However she refused to believe that this was the same and believed it to be just a random pain.

* * *

Jacob let out a satisfied sigh when he finished with the engine of the Ford Tempo he was working on. Backing away from it he gave Quil the okay to crank the car so he could see that the engine was working correctly. Quil did so and both he and Jacob grinned when the engine made the perfect sound. Closing the hood Jacob told Embry to drive it around to make sure it was running smoothly before calling the owner to let him know it was fixed. Not long after Quil left, Bella arrived with Little Billy. Jacob washed his hands and went out to greet his wife and son, leaning into the window.

"Hey, ready for lunch?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Jacob said, moving around to the passenger side of the car. Looking back at the garage he yelled, "Em, I'm heading out to lunch!"

Embry looked up from the paperwork he was going over, giving him a nod before moving to a truck Paul was underneath fixing to talk to him. Jacob got inside his wife's car and they left the garage to head into town for lunch. Along the way Jacob noticed Bella grimacing and rubbing her stomach. Concerned he asked, "Bells, are you alright?"

Bella nodded and answered, "Yeah, it's nothing."

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"I promise I'm fine, Jake."

Jacob didn't press the issue and the two of them talked. Bella smiled brightly when Jacob told her Embry was planning on proposing to Angela soon after she graduated with her master's. Jacob was happy for his friend as well, though still worried about his wife. By the time they reached town Bella looked absolutely nauseous. Worry covered Jacob's features, wondering suddenly if Bella was sick again the way she was years ago. At a stop light that he knew held for a while, Jacob unbuckled himself and said, "Bella, move over to this side. I'm taking you to the hospital."

The brunette looked at her husband in confusion and said, "But Jake, I'm fine." Nonetheless she unbuckled herself and got out of the car, trading places with Jacob. When Bella was in the car again and had shut the door, she leant her head against the cool window, holding her stomach. Jacob rubbed her shoulder as the light turned green and he drove to the hospital. Reaching it he parked and got their son out of his carrier, grabbing his baby bag before taking Bella's hand and taking them inside. Walking up to the front desk he said, "Excuse me, I'd like to see Dr. Cullen."

The receptionist looked up at Jacob ready to reject his request, but paused seeing the handsome man looking at her and blushed, nodding and picking up the phone to call Carlisle's office. Bella rolled her eyes, used to her husband getting that reaction. Before long Carlisle appeared and greeted the family, but he frowned seeing the nauseous and slightly hunched over form of Bella. Jacob wasted no time to explain and asked him to look his wife over. Carlisle nodded and took Bella away, telling Jacob he and his son could wait in his office for the time being. Jacob nodded and thanked him, taking Little Jacob to Carlisle's office, praying his wife was alright and it wasn't anything serious.

* * *

About an hour and a half had passed when Carlisle finally entered his office, papers in his hand. The blond man smiled at Little Billy who waved at him before moving to sit in his chair behind his desk. Looking up into the eyes of the man before him he could see the anxiousness in his brown eyes. Glancing down at the papers he said, "Well I know what's wrong with Bella."

"Please tell me her cancer isn't coming back," Jacob said anxiously.

"I can assure you it's not. I've run several tests and can tell you in the utmost certainty that her cancer is in no way returning."

Jacob let out a sigh of relief and said, "That's great. So then what's wrong with her if that's not it?"

Carlisle looked at Little Billy and smiled saying, "Well William, it looks like you'll be having a little sibling soon."

"Eh?" Little Billy said looking at the doctor in confusion. He looked up at Jacob and took in his wide-eyed expression before saying, "Da?"

"Bella's pregnant?" Jacob asked, a smile forming on his face. Standing from his seat with Little Billy in his arms, he grabbed the diaper bag and asked, "What room is she in?"

"407C," Carlisle answered, chuckling when Jacob rushed out of his office. He was very happy for the couple, considering everything they've been through over the years. He really wished them the best.

* * *

Bella thanked the nurse as she gave her a list of foods she was to eat and avoid while pregnant, not that Bella had thrown the last list away. Just as soon as the nurse left her husband walked in with their son. Judging by the look on his face she knew that he knew the news. Smiling Bella said, "I guess we'd better go shopping for things for a little girl soon."

Jacob smiled and asked, "How do you know it'll be a girl?"

"I just do."

The two of them grinned at each other before Jacob gave his wife a loving kiss, pulling away to look into her eyes and saying, "I love you, Bells. Thank you for holding on for me."

Bella gave him another sweet kiss before replying, "And I love you, Jake."

Jacob helped Bella off of the hospital bed and handed her Little Billy, the three of them leaving the hospital to head to the diner for lunch, agreeing to tell everyone the news soon. And as they left, Bella couldn't help but think that she couldn't have possibly been any happier than she was now if her life had gone differently. Sure, cancer had almost gotten the best of her, but with all of the support from her family and friends, and Jacob's undying, unconditionally love, she was able to hang on to life and beat cancer. Now she was living and loving, not taking a single moment for granted and knowing that the future was bright for her and her family, with the love of her life by her side.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is the end of Holding On. Thanks so much to all that have enjoyed and followed this non-supernatural Jacob and Bella story from beginning to end. You're reviews have been great and I hope to see you next time. XOXO, SehunsBae37.**


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